The Long Way Home
by Janelle Howard
Summary: By 2023 mutants have nearly been wiped out. In a desperate attempt to save themselves from extinction the X-Men send Logan back to 1973 to stop Raven from killing Bolivar Trask, the creator of the Sentinels. However with strained relationships the task proves difficult as Logan must unite the mutants from the past to save the future from annihilation. Sequel to Of Vices and Virtues
1. A Dark Desolate Future

_**AN: Happy New Years guys! As you can tell I decided to do a sequel to Of Vices and Virtues, hope you enjoy it!  
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_**Fifty years into the future (around 2023), during the war with the Sentinels **_

_The future, a dark, desolate world. A world of war, suffering, and loss. On both sides, mutants and humans the ones who dared to help them. Fighting an enemy we cannot defeat. Are we destined down this path? Destined to destroy ourselves like so many species before us? Or can we evolve fast enough to change our fate? _

_Is the future truly set?_

~~~x~~~

A single man with the mutation of absorbing and redirecting energy stood in the middle of a pathway that led up to a large, round wooden door. This is where the last of the mutants hid, in a monastery in an area of what used to be, China. The lone guard, was named Bishop.

He watched as a large, silver jet descended, landing near the entrance of the hideout as the ramp to the jet slowly dropped and out stepped Storm. Her eyes glazed over as she continued to hide the jet from the prying eyes of Sentinels. Logan followed behind her, instantly grabbing for his lighter from his jacket and brought it up to his lips to light a cigar. Charles Xavier emerged from the jet next, slowly floating down the ramp with Erik Lensherr coming out behind him as well.

The shadows of two mutants going by the name of Warpath and Sunspot suddenly appeared. Warpath, gifted with of the abilities enhanced reflexes, endurance, and senses. While Sunspot could channel solar energy into pure flame. The two mutants gathered around Bishop thinking that the new arrivals were hostile towards them. That was until the familiar voice of Bobby Drake, alias Iceman, called out from behind Bishop.

"Professor!" Bobby greeted, causing everyone to turn their attention towards the young man as he placed a hand on Bishop's shoulder, before walking down to them.

"Bobby!" Storm called out joyfully, as he made his way over, and she was quick to pull him into a hug.

"Hey Storm," He smiled back, hugging her tightly.

"Hey, kid," Logan greeted.

Bobby looked over to Logan and gave him a nod before stepping back.

"Professor," Kitty Pryde began, walking with Colossus, a mutant who turns into organic metal. "You made it," She smiled tiredly at the sight of all them.

Charles smiled at her and nodded and everyone moved into the temple, as it was safer than to remain in clear view.

"Whenever the Sentinels attack, Warpath spots them. And I send Bishop back to warn us of the attack before it happens. Blink scouts the next sight. And then we leave before they ever know we were there," Kitty finished.

"Because, we never were," Warpath added sitting down, close to Blink, a woman with the ability to create portals.

"What do you mean you were never there?" Logan asked, arching his brow at the younger mutants as he crossed his arms across his chest. He was still not clear on how this all worked.

Charles turned to Logan, "She projects Bishop back in time a few days to warn the others of the coming attack," Charles explained.

"She sends Bishop back in time?" Logan questioned, still confused.

"No, just his consciousness. She sends his mind back to his younger self, his younger body," Charles corrected.

"Wow," Logan said simply.

Erik turned to his old friend. The two of them had reunited over their differences when the future was threatened for extinction. The two of them had spent the last eight years trying to find an answer to saving this future.

"This just might work, Charles," Erik spoke up, sharing a knowing look with Charles.

Kitty looked between them, "What might work?" She asked, puzzled by what they meant.

"The Sentinel program was originally conceived by Dr. Bolivar Trask," Charles began. "In the early seventies he was one of the world's leading weapons designer. But covertly he had begun experimenting on mutants. Using their gifts to fuel his own research. There was one mutant who had discovered what he was doing," Charles said gravely.

"A mutant, with the ability to transform herself into anyone," Erik hinted.

"Mystique," Colossus named.

Charles nodded his head, sighing, "I knew her as Raven. We met when were children, grew up together. She was like a sister to me," Charles reminisced, the thoughts of those times and her were one of the things that haunted his memory. "I tried to help her, but only succeeded in driving her away. She hunted Trask across the world and at the Paris Peace Accords in 1973 after the Vietnam War. She found Trask," he paused for a moment, before revealing what happened. "And killed him," Charles recounted. "It was the first time she killed," Charles added softly.

"It wasn't her last," Logan reminded bitterly.

"But killing Trask did not have the outcome she expected," Charles continued grimly. "It only persuaded the government of the need for his program. They captured her that day, tortured her, experimented on her. In her DNA they discovered the secrets to her powers of transformation. It gave them the key they needed to create weapons that could adapt to any mutant power. And in less than fifty years the machines that destroyed so many of our kind were created," Charles said, each word heavier by the second. "And it all started on that day in 1973. The day she first killed. They day she truly became Mystique," Charles finished.

"You wanna go back there," Kitty astonished that the Professor would even think about it.

"If I can get to her. Stop the assassination, keep her out of their hands. Then we can stop the Sentinels from ever being born," Charles said, determination written all over his face.

Erik nodded at the plan, "And end this war before it ever begins," Erik finished.

Everyone around the room exchanged glances, most thinking about whether this plan was a good or bad one.

"Uh...I-I can send someone back a couple weeks, maybe even a month... But you're talking about going back _decades_," Kitty pointed out. "You have the most powerful brain in the world, Professor. But the mind can only stretch so far before it snaps. It would rip you apart," She informed sadly.

"What if someone's mind has a way of snapping back?" Logan asked, making everyone turn their attention to him. "What if someone can heal as fast as their ripped apart?" Logan asked again.

"It's a risk," Bishop intervened.

"Yeah, I'm getting that," Logan replied simply.

A serious expression formed on Bishop's face, "Not just for you. You do this, you change history," Bishop pointed out, staring at Logan.

Bishop understood the full implications of what could happen if they go through with this plan, Logan doesn't.

"Well, that's kind of the point," Logan retorted dryly.

"Some of us could be killed. Some of us may never be born," Bishop explained, shaking his head. "We have no idea how things may change," he pointed out.

"We could keep going. Keep fighting," Blink suggested.

"Until what?" Storm questioned. "You've got a decision to make. You can send Bishop back over and over again to warn you, until one day, he doesn't make it and you all die," Storm paused, letting her words sink in. "Or you can give up this life. So that they and everyone else who died in this war can have a future," she added.

"You're asking us to sacrifice our lives for a future we might not even be a part of," Sunspot spoke up.

"Yes," Erik answered bluntly.

"A second chance. A better chance for everyone," Charles told them.

Bishop glanced to his teammates before looking back to the professor, "My people need to vote," Bishop declared, crossing his arms.

Charles looked at each mutant in the room, all of their answers rang loud and clear in their minds. Despite the verbal objection, everyone knew that this was the right thing to do, even if it meant sacrificing what they had now.

"They just did. They're in," Charles stated.

~~~x~~~

The mutants split themselves into two groups. Storm, Bishop, Warpath, Sunspot, Blink, and Colossus went outside acting as guard. They were the last the defense once the Sentinels came. Meanwhile, inside, Logan boarded up the doors as Erik, Charles, Kitty, and Bobby stood in the room preparing to send Logan back in time. Logan walked into the room and approached the stone slab, looking quite nervous but determined.

"So I wake up in my younger body, God's knows where," Logan murmured looking at the stone table where he has to lay down. "Then what?" he asked

"You'll need to go to my house, and find me," Charles answered. "Convince me of...all of this," he urged.

Logan cast a sideways glance at Charles, "Wouldn't you be able to just read my mind?" Logan questioned, furrowing his brow.

Charles shook his head, thinking back to that dark time, "I didn't have my powers in 1973 Logan, you're going to have to do for me what I once did for you. Lead me. Guide me. I was a very different man then. You'll have to be patient with me," Charles explained.

He scoffed, "Patience isn't my strongest suit," Logan commented, looking down at the table again.

"You'll need me as well," Erik spoke up from the corner, walking over to them.

"What?" Logan questioned, looking over to him with his teeth grit, Charles was one thing but him?

"After Mystique left Charles, she came with me and I sent her down a dangerous path, a darker path. It's going to take the two of us, side by side at a time where we couldn't be further apart." He sighed, looking over to Charles. "Charles, you know we're going to need _her_ as well," Erik stated, with a knowing look.

Charles was silent, moving his eyes down to his lap as he felt his body begin to turn cold.

"Professor?" Logan asked looking up at the man, who visibly seemed to be in pain. "Who is he talking about?"

"The only woman who could keep the both of us in line," Erik replied, a fond smile reaching his lips as his mind flashed back to a smiling image of her. The beautiful woman he never saw again after that fateful day on the beach.

"_Claudia_," Charles finally revealed, just above a whisper. "A woman I once loved," He added, his eyes were filled with sadness. "She is no longer with us, Logan," Charles turned to Erik. "Leave her out of this," he stated, shaking his head.

Logan had never seen Charles to look so broken and vulnerable.

"I drove her away Erik, I doubt that she would want to come back,"

"This is your one chance to possibly make it right Charles," Erik pointed out. "Or Claudia will remain dead," he ended grimly, a frown lining his forehead. Erik looked back to Logan."If you find Claudia you will need to convince her as well," Erik informed. "Though I highly doubt she'd be agreeable to work with us,"

"Great," Logan drawled, staring at Erik with distaste. "So where do I find you? Or this Claudia woman?"

"Well, it's complicated..." Erik replied vaguely, and Logan arched his eyebrow and nodded, not fully understanding his behavior.

Logan started to walk over to the table, but Charles stopped him. Erik stared at Charles, confused as to what he's doing.

"One last thing," Charles began, looking down. "I was lost back then, Logan," He informed, bringing his gaze to Logan. Logan nodded and listened. "Erik's right, I'm going to need Claudia by my side...she kept me grounded," Charles stated softly. "If she hadn't left, she wouldn't have died. Claudia, she was one of the first mutants to be killed by these Sentinels,"

"Convince her, Logan. Convince her, and make everything right again,"

~~~x~~~

Logan sighed as he climbed onto the stone table before laying down. Kitty walked over to him and placed her hands on either side of his head.

"Basically your body will go to sleep while your mind travels back in time. As long as your back there past and present won't continue to coexist. But once you wake up whatever you done will take hold and become history, and for the rest us it will be the only history we know it'll be like the last 50 years never happened. This world, this war, the only person who will remember it, is you," Kitty explained, with a small smile appearing on her face. "Alright Logan I need you to clear your head and stay as calm as possible," Kitty instructed, about to begin the process.

"What? What do you mean?" Logan asked, suddenly a little worried.

"If your mind gets rocky it will be harder for me to hold you. You could slip between past and future," Kitty answered.

"What if I need to get a little rocky?" Logan asked.

"Think peaceful thoughts," Kitty suggested.

"Peaceful thoughts..." He mumbled before turning his head back to Kitty. "You have any good news?" Logan asked again.

"Well, you really don't age so you'll look the same," Kitty said.

"You won't have much time in the past," Bobby spoke up. "Sentinels will find us. They always do," he finished grimly.

"And this time we won't have anywhere to run. We'll have no escape. This is our last chance, " Kitty added quietly.

"Are you sure this will work?" Erik asked his friend

Charles nodded, "I have faith in him," Charles replied instantly.

"It's not him I'm worried about, it's us," Erik admitted. "We were young. We didn't know any better," he continued.

"We will now," Charles said confidently.

"See you all soon," Logan breathed out, as he shifted himself.

"This might sting a little," Kitty warned, putting her hands on each side of his temples.

And with that bright blue-white orbs emitted from Kitty's hands and entered Wolverine's temples, transporting Logan's mind to his younger self, sending him back in time. Logan began screaming in pain and claws immediately shot out.

The sounds of loud Logan's screaming filled the room until he fell into unconsciousness.

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_**AN: And so we begin our journey into the past!**_


	2. Professor?

**AN: Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who followed, favorite, or reviewed this story so far!**

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Logan's eyes shot open, slightly disoriented as to where he was, from the corner of his eye he saw something glowing that looked to be very turquoise. Squinting his eyes to focus Logan realized it was a lava lamp he was staring at. He moved to sit up only to realize that a thin, female arm was draped over his shoulder. He gently unwrapped the arm off of him and tossed the blankets back and tried to climb off of the bed, but found the rather simple task difficult, the bed was jiggling. He was laying in a waterbed. Logan let out a groan of frustration and pushed himself out of the bed, standing completely naked as he looked around the old room.

He walked slowly to the mirror near the bed and admired himself, noticing that he no longer had gray hairs. He moved over to the window, parting the blinds slightly. What he saw wasn't at all what he was expecting. Skyscrapers surrounded him, vintage cars flooded the busy streets, and popular cigarette brands were plastered upon billboards everywhere. It was...New York. At least the 1970's version of it, anyways. Logan slowly released his grasp on the blinds and took a step back.

"Holy shit. It worked," Logan whispered in disbelief.

Logan stared at himself in the mirror once more before grabbing a pair of jeans from the dresser and sliding into them. Suddenly, the door slammed open, almost breaking off its hinges due to the force and three men entered.

Logan looked at the men in confusion, "Hey, what's going on?" Logan asked, just as he buttoned his jeans up.

"Gwen, get dressed!" an overweight man ordered, gesturing towards the now awake girl.

"Who the hell are you?" Logan questioned, staring at the man. "I don't know what's going on," Logan stated.

"What's going on is you're supposed to be guarding the bosses daughter, not _screwing_ her!" The overweight man yelled, regarding the woman who was now scrambling to find her clothes.

"I didn't sleep with her," Logan argued, not remembering one bit of what happened.

"No?"

"No," Logan repeated. "I mean, yes I slept with her many times," Logan corrected nonchalantly.

"Jimmy!" Gwen exclaimed, furious that he would say something like that so casually.

"That wasn't me, that was the old me, I just got here 20 seconds ago," Logan explained, quickly realizing how foolish that sounded as it left his lips.

"Really?" The man asked skeptically, cocking his eyebrows up in disbelief.

"Yeah,"

"Well, then what happened to your clothes?" The man deadpanned.

"My..._oh,_" Logan stated, looking down at his shirtless form. Which wasn't exactly helping his case to prove his innocence. "Would you believe me if I told you we were sent here from the future?" he asked.

"What?" Gwen breathed out in confusion.

"Get out of here sweetheart, we're going take car of this comedian," the man ordered.

Gwen left quickly as she stuffed her feet into her shoes and covered herself with a blanket.

"No you're not. You're going to give me the keys to your car and some money for gas. Or you're going to wake up in the hospital, trust me I know how things play out," Logan stated.

"Oh, cause you're from the future," the man reasoned mockingly.

"No because of _these_," Logan replied, a smug expression on his face.

He raised his fists up and unsheathed his claws expecting to hear the sound of metal only to find that they were bone and not metal. Almost on instinct, the two men reached for their handguns, whilst Logan growled and readied his stance.

"What the hell!" the overweight man shouted, reaching for his gun as well.

The gunshots rang out like firecrackers. Each bullet ripped through him, and he stumbled backward, his breath came in short, heavy puffs.

"Goddamnit!" Logan cursed in pain.

He flexed all of his muscles with a grunt as the bullets slowly fell out of him, the silence was intense as each bullet hit the carpeted floors below with a soft _plink_, followed by the _hissing_ of his flesh slowly wounding itself back together.

Logan let out a growl and charged at the men and attacked the men ferociously and within a few seconds the fight was over, Logan left the three men with severe injuries which would require hospitalization. Logan took the car keys off of the unconscious man body, and stuffed them into his pocket and finally finished putting his clothes on.

~~~x~~~

As Logan pulled into the rocky driveway of the school, nestled peacefully in a secluded place in Westchester, he didn't know what to expect, but what he was staring certainly wasn't it.

What he used to remember as a grand, beautiful mansion was now in a state of disrepair. It was a bit grotesque, not all like the stunning mansion he called home for a long time. Logan wasn't even sure that he was in the right location until he looked down and saw the Xavier Mansion sign. It had fallen into an overgrown bush ruined with rust covering it.

It was eerily quiet at the mansion, but never the less Logan drove through the open gates, ignoring the '_No Trespassing'_ sign that was clearly noticeable to anyone. He drove into the garden to find that also a disaster, instead of the neatly cut grass and blooming flowers Logan was used to was now all unkempt and overgrown. Weeds grew from beneath the cracks of the stone driveway and leaves flew about, as if no one had driven through here in ages.

The mansion seemed completely abandoned.

Cutting the engine off, Logan threw the door opened and climbed out of the car and made his way up to the doors. Logan grabbed the doorknocker and knocked three times. Several minutes passed before a scrawny man with thick framed glasses came to the door and opened it a crack. He was dressed in a yellow shirt with red stripes, a red cardigan over it, and reddish brown pants.

"Can I help you?" the man asked confused.

Logan took a peek inside, but there was no one inside of the house, "Uh...Yeah. What happened to the school?" Logan asked, a frown lining his features.

"The school's been shut for _years_," He answered narrowing his eyes, looking Logan up and down. "Are you a parent?" he questioned.

"I sure as hell hope not," Logan scoffed, staring at the man. "Who are you?" Logan asked.

Hank stared at the man suspiciously, "Hank. Hank McCoy I look after the house now," Hank answered, closing the door a bit more.

Logan took off his shades and smiled at the man, amused about his identity. Logan didn't believe it, he_ couldn't_ believe it. Logan had never seen a photo of Professor McCoy before his mutation, but Logan had imagined him looking many ways, but never as some scrawny nerd.

"You're _Beast_?" Logan asked in disbelief, while Hank stared at him with fear and looked down. "Look at you I guess you were a late bloomer," Logan chuckled.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm gonna have to ask you to leave," Hank stated, shaking his head and forcing a smile. He tried to close the door but Logan put his hands up to it to stop it.

"Where's the professor?" Logan asked trying to push the door open.

Hank began to push on the door with more strength, "There's no professor here," He grunted as he continued trying to shut the door.

Logan started to use a bit more force on the door, "You're pretty strong for a scrawny kid. You sure there's not a little Beast in there?" Logan prodded. Hank almost got the door closed as he refused to make eye contact. "Come on Beast," Logan taunted.

"He's not here," Hank replied, struggling to close the door.

"Come on, Beastie," Logan goaded.

"No!"

And with that Logan busted in. He pushed back Hank and started to look around at the completely trashed inside of the mansion.

Hank followed behind shouting, "Hey!" over and over. From the room behind him, Logan could hear Hank still trying to stop him. "I said the school's closed so you need to leave now!" Hank ordered, as he followed Logan into the foyer.

Logan didn't listen and made his way toward the stairs, "Not until I see the professor," Logan continued.

Hank grabbed his shoulder and turned him around, "There's no professor here. I told you that already," Hank said getting annoyed by the man.

Logan looked at Hank, "Look kid, you and are going to be good friends..." Logan trailed off, and suddenly punched Hank in the face causing him to fall to the floor. "You just don't know it yet," Logan finished and walked away.

"Professor," Logan called jogging up the steps. Logan walked down an empty and quiet hallway. "Professor," he called again.

Hank became angrier at the intruder, and slammed one of his hands on the ground in the distance. He was on longer able to control the beast inside anymore. But Logan hadn't heard it as he continued walking down the corridor, the mansion was very run down and not what he remembered.

"Professor!"

That's when Logan heard a roar.

Out of nowhere, he was attacked my a blue monster that he recognized as Beast. Hank started to throw him around the mansion like he was a rag doll. He threw Logan onto a table that broke under the man's weight and from the force of the throw. Hank jumped up on the chandelier and looked down at the man roaring and threatening to claw out his eyes

But they were soon interrupted by someone coming downstairs.

"Hank! What's going on here?" a voice asked, as the sound of footsteps marched sloppily toward the stairs.

Logan looked up and saw a young professor coming down the stairs. He had long brown hair that was unkempt. He was in pajamas and quite frankly looked like a homeless man. Logan couldn't believe what he was looking at while the man walked down the stairs with a glass of whiskey in his hand that he continued to slurp.

"Professor?"

Charles shook his head, "Please don't call me that," he said grimacing.

Hank looked up at Charles with a confused expression, "Why? You know this guy?" Hank asked, still hanging from the chandelier.

He nodded his head, "Yeah, he looks...slightly familiar," Charles slurred, suddenly gesturing towards Hank's dangling form. "Get off the bloody chandelier Hank," Charles snapped narrowing his eyes.

He obeyed and dismounted by flipping off the chandelier and landing perfectly on his feet while Logan still remained on the table he landed on moments before.

"You can walk?" Logan asked in disbelief.

Logan couldn't help but be confused. Charles had been paralyzed by a bullet that Erik deflected in 1962. He shouldn't have been able to walk.

"You are a perceptive one," Charles mocked, walking down the stairs again.

"I thought Erik-" Logan began, but was cut off.

"Which is slightly perplexing that you managed to miss our sign on the way in," Charles commented quickly, sitting down on a step as Logan got off the table. "This is private property, my friend. I'm going to have ask..._him_," He slurred pointing at Hank with his glass. "To ask _you_ to leave," Charles finished, and with that Charles got onto his feet preparing to leave for his room again.

"Well...I'm afraid I can't do that, cause I was sent here for you," Logan said, looking at the ground.

"Tell whoever it was that sent you that I'm..." He trailed off looking around. "Busy," Charles replied, seemingly unbothered.

Logan let out a humorless chuckle, "That's gonna be a little tricky...because the person who sent me was you," Logan revealed.

"What?" Charles asked confused with another grimace on his face, and making Logan feel ridiculous with a judging look.

"About fifty years from now," Logan informed seriously.

Charles scoffed taking it as a joke, "Fifty years from now?" He repeated, with a small cynical smile. "Like in the future, fifty years from now?" Charles questioned.

"Yeah," Logan answered, with a nod.

"I sent you from the future?" Charles asked again skeptically, looking over to Hank who thought the idea was ridiculous too.

"Yeah," Logan repeated, and Hank shook his head while Charles looked at the man amused.

"Piss off," Charles commented with an amused expression, not believing a word that he said.

"If you had your powers you'd know I was telling the truth," Logan stated coolly, making Charles's amusement fade.

He frowned at the man and narrowed his eyes, "How do you know I don't have my p..." Charles' question gets stuck in his throat as his voice faded. "Who are you?" He asked curiously.

"I told you," Logan stated.

"Are you CIA?" Charles questioned, and Logan shook his head. "Have you been watching me?" Charles asked, bombarding him with questions.

"I know you Charles, we've been friends for years," Logan explained, walking around the room. "I know your powers came at nine. I know you thought you were going crazy when it all started, all the voices in your head, and it wasn't until you were twelve that you realized the voices were in everyone else's head. Do you want me to go on?" he asked, looking back at Charles.

Charles was shocked and confused by the confession, "I never told anyone that," Charles stated, staring at Logan. "Except-" Charles began, but stopped himself not being able to finish his sentence just at the thought of _her. _Charles stared at Logan and bit the interior of his lip painfully. "Alright you piqued my interest. What do you want?" Charles asked, plopping down on the stairs to listen to him continue to speak.

"We have stop Raven, I need your help, _We_ need your help," Logan explained, only to receive a bitter look from Charles.

_"We have to stop Raven,"_ It only took that sentence, that name, to make the hearts stop within Charles and Hank. Hank was bubbling with fear but swallowed it down while Charles himself was using all of his strength to keep himself in place.

Charles became a bit emotional, "I think I'd like to wake up now," Charles murmured, standing up and walking in direction of his office.

Hank looked at Logan and started to change to his human form, "What does she have to do with this?" Hank asked, worried about her.

~~~x~~~

After a few minutes of explaining, Charles was trying to understand what they were talking about.

"So you're saying... they took Raven's power, and what?" Charles asked pouring a drink in his glass. "They weaponized it?" Charles questioned, repeating the information Logan just told him.

Logan nodded his head, "Yep," he answered simply, glancing around Charles' study, there were shot glasses and bottles littered around the room and the strong smell of liquor seemed to stick to every crevice.

"She is unique," Hank commented, with a sad look in his eyes.

"Yeah, she is, Hank," Charles agreed, looking at him and giving him a comforting look accompanied with a smile.

"In the beginning, the Sentinels were just targeting mutants," Logan explained. "Then they began to identify the genetics in non-mutants...who would eventually have mutant children and grandchildren," He looked at Charles as he drank from his glass. "Many of the humans tried to help us, but it was a slaughter. Leaving only the worst of humanity in charge. I've been in a lot of wars. I'd never seen anything like this. And it all starts with her," Logan finished.

Charles sighed and dragged his hand over his face, "Let's just say for the sake of...sake that I choose to believe you, that I choose to help you. Raven won't listen to me...her heart and soul belongs to someone else now,"

"I know," Logan said and stood from his chair. "That's why we're going to need Magneto too," he added.

"Erik?" Hank asked, before Charles began to laugh cynically. "You do know where he is?" he asked again.

"Yeah," Logan coolly responded with a nod, although he did not.

Charles laughed harder than he already had. This was the most insane thing he had ever heard. He got up and walked out of his study with his glass still in hand.

"He's where he belongs," Charles commented, as he walked past Logan.

Logan frowned, "That's it? You're just gonna walk out?" he asked in disbelief.

"Ooh, top marks," Charles said with a very mocking grin. "Like I said, you are perceptive," He stated, continuing to walk away.

"The professor I know wouldn't turn his back on someone...who lost their path. Especially someone he loved,"

Charles paused on the stairs and turned around and walked back to Logan, "You know...I think I do remember you," Charles began, slowly remembering his days of recruiting in the 60's. "Yeah, we came to you a long time ago seeking your help. And I'm going to say to you what you said to us then. Fuck off," Charles spat.

Logan was fed up, he had been patient enough.

"Listen to me you little shit!" Logan growled, roughly grabbing Charles by the lapels of his robe nearly lifting the man off of his feet and making Hank stand up. "I've come a long way, and I've watched a lot of people die. Good people, friends. If you want to wallow in self pity and do nothing, then you're going to watch the same thing, you understand?"

They stood there for a moment in tense silence, Logan heaving, brow furrowed and ready to fight. Charles on the other hand looked apathetic and remained calm. Logan knew his message still wasn't getting through so he let go of Charles.

Charles stepped back from Logan, putting his arms loosely out to the sides, "We all have to die sometime," he stated coldly, looking Logan in the eyes.

He turned back around and walked back the upstairs to his room like it was nothing, taking another swig of alcohol to continue to wallow.

And just like that Charles was gone.

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_**AN: Not the Professor that Logan was expecting was he? Hope you enjoyed the chapter, there's more drama to come!**_


	3. What the Hell Happened to Him?

_**AN: I'm so so sorry for the late update, life got very busy in these past couple of days. A big thank you to those of you that have supported this story!  
**_

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Hank put his head down, "Told you there was no Professor here," Hank remarked with a shrug, starting to clean up a table that was covered in things.

"What the hell happened to him?" Logan asked, shocked to see his old mentor in such a state.

Hank stood in silence for a moment deliberating whether he should explain or not. With a sigh he placed a bottle down and looked at the desk below him.

"He lost everything. Raven, Erik, his legs..." Hank trailed off, thinking of someone else that he lost, but he decided it was best not to mention it. "He built the school, the labs...this whole place," Hank continued, pouring himself a drink. "Then, just after the first semester, the war in Vietnam got worse. Many of the teachers and older students were drafted...and it broke him. He retreated into himself, I..I wanted to help do something so I designed a serum that treated his spine. Derived from the second formula, that was me, that controls my mutation. I take just enough to keep myself balanced but...he takes too much. I tried easing him back but he just couldn't take the pain, the voices. The treatment gives him his legs but its not enough...he's just lost too much," Hank looked back up at Logan, and smiled distantly before taking a sip from his glass.

Upstairs, Charles was pouring himself a drink, in an attempt to forget the memories he didn't wish to think of. As he downed a good portion of his drink, suddenly, _it_ all came rushing back, the buzzing of hushed tones he so terribly wanted to push away was beginning to torment him.

Charles' arm immediately shot out to reach for a cloth to wrap around his arm. After struggling briefly to tie it around his arm, he pulled it tight with his teeth as his hand shakily reached out to a small table where a syringe and a small vial rested upon. Charles grabbed the needle and the vial of serum before filling the needle with liquid and pressed it into his skin, letting the solution take its effects.

Charles laid back in his chair and looked over to his nightstand, but he had to look past the countless bottles to see it. There under the only source of light in the dark, musky room was a small, untouched framed photo of Raven. The Raven he knew. The memory of when they first met had rolled through his mind. His mind then drifted to Erik and how he stole Raven from His life. He stole Raven, made her into a completely different person.

But Erik also gave him Claudia. Charles would have probably never met her if it weren't for Erik's vendetta against Shaw. But alas she was another loss. Charles remembered the shine in her eyes, the way her lips curved when she smiled, and how strong she seemed when she carried herself. She was a friend to everyone she met.

Charles closed his eyes tightly, fighting back the tears and the memories of the two people he loved most. Raven and Claudia. He knew he couldn't save Raven on that beach in Cuba, but Claudia, she could've stayed.

Back downstairs, Logan couldn't but feel that Charles and Hank were tip toeing around someone and he didn't understand why. Logan glanced down at Charles' desk noticing something that he hadn't before. A picture frame lying face down on the desk, reaching his hand out Logan grabbed the silver frame and flipped it to face him. In the picture was a young, African-American woman who couldn't have been no older than twenty-four.

She had neck length black hair that was curled and parted to the side in a bob. She was looking back at the camera with a wide grin, holding an ornament as she decorated a Christmas tree that was in the picture as well. The Charles he knew mentioned a woman he knew long ago before Logan made this journey, a woman who Charles cared for deeply. _Claudia_, that was the woman's name if Logan remembered correctly, he wondered if they were one and the same.

"So, this is Claudia," Logan commented, looking up from the picture. Hank froze, He hadn't heard that name spoken aloud in years. By the looks of Hank's expression and his reaction, Logan's suspicions were confirmed. "Heh, I didn't know the professor liked them young," Logan quipped, a soft chuckle escaping him.

Hank grabbed the frame from Logan, "God, It wasn't like that," Hank stated, rolling his eyes. "Yes, there was an age gap, but they were very much in love with each other," Hank explained, looking down at the photo briefly and sighing. "They truly made each other happy," Hank added softly, before placing the photo face down on the desk again.

"What happened between them?"

"Remember that depression I told you that Charles fell into?" Hank asked, as he began cleaning again.

"Yeah,"

"Claudia was there, she was there for all of it. Claudia tried to stick by him, she really did, but she just couldn't take it anymore," Hank paused, as he exchanged a brief look with Logan. "They fought a lot, she was sick of Charles' behavior of being a drunkard. She was tired of feeling more like a maid to Charles than the woman he claimed to love. And well Charles, one moment he's the loving man Claudia fell in love and in the next he's a mean drunk." Hank explained, picking up empty bottles. "As tough as a woman Claudia is, I knew that some of the things that Charles said got under her skin. She was miserable here, but it all came to a tipping point in 1967," Hank continued, throwing the bottles into a trash bin.

"She left him, didn't she?"

"Yes, by the end of '67 she was gone," Hank answered, shoving his hands into his pockets. "The night she had left, it felt strangely peaceful. The atmosphere in the mansion didn't feel so heavy. That was until I heard Charles' bedroom door slam open and the both of them shouting. Claudia was done, she was over it. She told Charles that she couldn't keep pretending that they were this happy couple, so for her own sake she was leaving him. She said, if he wanted to remain on his path to self-destruction then be her guest, but she wasn't going to be apart of it. She wasted years of her life trying to help a man who doesn't want it," Hank finished, shaking his head as he leaned against the desk in behind of him.

Logan frowned, "And how did Charles take that?" he questioned, feeling like he already knew the answer.

"Not well, not well at all," Hank replied, shaking his head again. "He said some pretty hurtful things to her. He told her to go ahead and leave, he didn't need her. Charles called Claudia a 'useless woman' and claimed that maybe he'd be happier if she wasn't here. I...I never seen Claudia look so hurt, so betrayed in all the years I've known her," Hank looked sadly down, now crossing his arms against his chest. "She actually began to tear up and responded quietly saying 'that makes two of us' before she reached down to her finger and slid off her ring and threw it at Charles," Hank sighed, his mind replaying that night.

_"Claudia, Claudia, wait! Please, Claudia, just slow down. Please, just listen-" Hank begged._

"Wait! Charles and Claudia were married?" Logan asked, his eyes almost bulging out of his skull.

"No, just engaged," Hank explained. "They dated for three years, and then Charles proposed to her in '66. As you can tell now, it didn't work out," he sighed, shaking his head slightly. "The last thing Claudia said when she left the mansion was 'This whole thing was a mistake'," Hank added, with a frown as he folded his arms against his chest.

Logan sighed looking at Hank and shook his head. He was sent here for a reason, and now he can't seem to get the job done. He was risking many people's lives if he didn't change this now.

"I'll help you get her," He heard a voice from behind. He smirked and turned around, "Not for any of your future shite, but for her," Charles announced, coming down the stairs.

Logan mused over this and nodded, "Fair enough," Logan commented.

"But I'll tell you this. You don't know Erik. That man is a monster. A murderer. You think you can convince Raven to change?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. "To come home? That's splendid. But what makes you think you can change him?" Charles questioned, his tone growing bitter.

"Because you and Erik sent me back here together," Charles stared at him, surprised at the unexpected words. Logan scratched the back of his head, before folding his arms together. "You are not going to like this, but you told me, practically begged me to get Claudia as well," Logan added, waiting for Charles' reaction.

Charles scoffed and shook his head, "That, I cannot do,"

That was a pain he had buried away and didn't wish to dredge back up anytime soon, he felt the same for Raven and that old wound was most definitely raw now. He had managed to control his emotions now whenever Raven was mentioned, to a point. But Claudia? That was something else entirely. She was his first love, the woman he wanted to marry, the woman he _almost_ married.

"Charles, listen to me," Logan told him, looking down. "You are going to regret this just as you did when you told me to get her. If you want to save her, this is your only chance," Hank frowned at his words and Charles' angry expression dropped, forming into a sad and confused expression.

"_Save_ her?" Hank asked, asking what Charles was not able to.

Logan nodded turning to look at him, "Claudia didn't make it, she's _dead_," Logan explained, shaking his head.

_"Dead,"_ Charles repeated, sounding suddenly breathless from this revelation.

Charles clutched at his chest and inhaled deeply, suddenly not feeling too well. Like the world around him was spinning and he was stationary, Charles closed his eyes, guilt swarming inside him.

_"Claudia is dead because of me,"_

* * *

**_AN: And there we have it folks! Don't worry guys, Claudia will make an appearance soon you just gotta let the story play out.  
_**


	4. Recruiting for a Jailbreak

_**AN: Thank you all for the continued support of this story!  
**_

* * *

Logan, Hank, and Charles all stood around a table, discussing how to get Erik out.

"The room there holding him in was built during the second world war when there was a shortage of steel. So the foundation is pure concrete and sand. No metal," Hank explained, gesturing to a rolled out blueprint of the Pentagon-specifically, the facility Erik was held in.

"He's being held a hundred floors under _the _most heavily guarded building on the planet," Charles added, with a sigh.

A look of confusion took over Logan's face, "Why's he in there?" Logan asked, his eyes bouncing between Hank and Charles.

Charles let out a snort and raised his head as the rest of his body hunched over, "Did he forget to mention?" Charles asked with a laugh that was anything, but humorous.

"Uh...JFK," Hank muttered.

"He killed...?" Logan trailed off, with shock evident in his tone before cutting himself off in disbelief. "That was Erik?" he questioned.

"How else do you explain a bullet miraculously curving through the air? Erik's always had a way with guns," Charles sighed as he turned his head to face Logan. "You sure you want to carry on with this?" he asked, uncertainty evident in his voice.

You could tell that a part of him wished that Logan would give up. Naturally, that didn't happen.

"Hey, this is your plan, not mine," Logan shrugged.

"We don't have the resources to get us in," Hank argued, shaking his head.

"Or out," Charles added. "It's just me and Hank," Charles breathed out.

Logan paused for a moment, "I know a guy. Yeah, he'd be a young man now, living outside of D.C," He chuckled, as a look of fond memories filled his eyes. "He could get into anywhere. Just don't know how the hell we're gonna find him..." Logan trailed off.

Hank turned to Charles, "Is Cerebro of the question?" Hank questioned, and Charles rolled his eyes before lowering his head down, slightly shaking it with a sigh. "We have a phone book," Hank offered.

~~~x~~~

"Here, here, here" Logan said as he leaned forward between the seats.

"Where?" Charles questioned, carefully driving down the small street.

"Just stop here," Logan replied agitated.

"All right, all right," Charles surrendered, pulling up to a house in a suburban neighborhood.

"Next time I'm driving," Logan scoffed, as Charles brought the car to a stop, it was clear he hadn't driven in years.

"Don't get used to it," Charles retorted, rolling his eyes.

The three of men stepped out of the car and up to the house's front porch, passing by a mailbox with 'Maximoff' written across it's side. Strangely, the doormat at the front door had black burn marks across the lettering. Logan knocked on the dark wooden door, before watching it open up to a brunette middle-aged woman her smile dropping from her face.

"What's he done now?" she sighed. "I'll just write you a check for whatever he took..." she shook her head, the woman sounded so tired.

"We just need to talk to him," Logan reassured, she nodded and opened the door all they way, allowing them in.

"Peter!" she called. "The cops are here!" she stepped out of their way. "_Again_," she added, seemingly sick and tired of her son's troublemaking antics. "Down there," she told them, pointing to a door.

Logan turned the knob and led the group down the wooden stairs. Stolen road signs hung on or leaned against the walls as they made their way further down. There was music was playing loud along with what sounded like a ping pong game. Once the men got to the last step, they stood in a large room and witnessed a peculiar sight. There was indeed a ping pong game being played by a young man with silver hair, but he was playing against himself, rushing to each side to hit the ball effortlessly.

"What do you guys want?" Peter asked quickly, not taking his eyes off the game before flashing past them and onto a couch eating an almost finished popsicle, "I've been here all day," He told them.

"Just relax, Peter. We're not cops," Logan reassured, before Peter cut him off.

"Course you're not cops. If you were cops you wouldn't be driving a rental car," Peter pointed out.

Charles raised his eyebrow, "How'd you know we got a rental car?" he questioned.

"I checked your registration when you were walking to the door. I also had some time to kill so I went through your rental agreement. Saw you were from out of town. Are you FBI?" he asked, speaking quickly. Using his speed, he grabbed Charles's wallet in a second, looking through it's contents. "No, you're not cops. Hey, what's with this gifted youngsters' place?" He asked as he sped away, dropping the wallet and Charles' business card on the floor.

"That's an old card," Charles stated annoyed, as he slipped the items back into his pocket.

"He's fascinating..." Hank commented, as he watched Peter speed around.

"He's a pain in the arse," Charles scoffed, running his hand through his hair, which was windblown because of Peter's speed.

"What? A teleporter?" Hank questioned.

"No, he's just fast. And when I knew him he wasn't so...young," Logan replied.

Peter frowned at his statement before grinning, "Young? You're just old," Peter quipped.

They turned back to the couch, seeing Peter already lounging on it finishing up a popsicle that he just got.

Hank stepped forward, "So you're not afraid to show your powers," Hank observed, raising an eyebrow.

Peter faked innocence, "What powers? What are you talking about? Do you see something strange here? Nothing anybody would believe if you told them..." He said very quickly, before zipped between Charles and Logan to the Pac-Man machine across the room, that was obviously stolen. "So, who are you? What do you want?" he asked.

"We need your help, Peter," Logan stated briefly.

"For what?" He quickly asked back, keeping his eyes glued to the game screen.

"To break into a highly secured facility...and get someone out,"

"Prison break? That's illegal you know..." Peter chuckled back, looking at the middle aged men who were apparently planning to do something worse than all of his crimes combined.

"Um..." Logan looked around the room at all the stolen items filling the room, which were mainly TV's and Twinkie boxes that still had price tags on them. Logan turned back to look at Peter who was still playing his game. "Well, only if you get caught."

"So, what's in it for me?" Peter asked, keeping his eyes glued to the game screen.

"You, you kleptomaniac, get to break into the Pentagon," Charles retorted, taking off his sunglasses to wipe his eyes.

This promise peaked Peter's interest, he stopped playing the game and turned around to face them.

"How do I know I can trust you?" Peter questioned.

"Because we're just like you," Logan said plainly, keeping his arms folded.

"Show him," Charles told Logan.

Logan raised his fist up, slowly, three bone claws poked through his skin and grew between his fingers.

Peter grimaced before nodding, "That's cool, but disgusting,"

~~~x~~~

"Built in 1943, the Pentagon is the world's largest office building," the tour guide began her routine. Charles, Hank, and Logan walked together in a large tourist group. "Housing more than 25,000 military employees stretched out over six million square feet,"

"Where's the bathroom?" a little boy near the front asked.

"He always need to pee!" the little boy's sister groaned.

"Well, lucky for you, you'll have plenty to choose from. The building was constructed during the segregation so..."

Logan and Charles quickly slip away from the tour guide, throwing their visitor's passes in a bin at the bottom of the stairs they went down. While Peter went away earlier to get Erik out. Hank stayed with the group and as discreetly as he could, pulled out a small a radio monitor twisting a couple switches—to interfere with the security camera signals. When activated, it would cut all the signals in the Pentagon, canceling the security footage and show Sanford & Son on the screens.

Logan and Charles climb several flights of stairs until they finally reach door to the Pentagon kitchen. Hank sets off the fire alarm sprinklers causing water to sprinkle down on the staff and them. Charles began speaking right away.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, this is a Code Red situation. We are evacuating the entire floor...so that my associates and I...can, uh, secure the prison..." Charles finished, and Logan sent him a 'what the hell?' look, but all the kitchen staff immediately left, leaving only two guards to deal with.

"Who are you?" One of the guards asked, advancing on them.

'We're special operations, CB...FB-CID," Charles was getting flustered. "Perhaps you didn't hear me when first I spoke...but it is imperative that you understand... we're in a complete lock down situation. We have to get you to the third floor..."

Logan was getting frustrated with Charles' rambling and rolled his eyes before took charge of the situation. Logan walked forward to the guards, grabbing a frying pan on his way and punched one guard in his gut before smashing the pan on the other guard's leg then slapping him with it, knocking him out cold. Logan used the pan again on the guard that was doubled over and smashed the pan against his arm, throwing over a cart of food.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Were you finished?" Logan asked Charles sarcastically.

Charles stared at him in shock for a few seconds before shaking his head and grabbing the key to the lift from one of the guards.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, looking up to meet Logan's eyes. "I'm just not very good with violence," he declared, as the elevator doors open.

Revealing someone Charles never thought he'd see again...Erik.

Erik looked at his old friend in shock, "Charles?" he asked in surprise.

Charles looked at him for a second before his face scrunched up, fiery with anger, and he launched a blow into the other man's face. Charles was no fighter though and ended up stumbling into the corner of the lift.

"Good to see you too, old friend," Erik commented as he wiped at his sore lip. "And walking," he added.

"No thanks to you!" Charles snarled.

"You're the last person in the world I expected to see today," Erik stated truthfully.

"Believe me, I wouldn't be here if I didn't have to," he informed the man. He quickly advanced on him. "If we get you out of here, we do it my way. No killing," Charles demanded.

Erik nodded unfazed, "No helmet," he said, tapping his head. "I couldn't disobey you even if I wanted," Erik reminded.

"I am _never_ getting inside that head again. I need your word, Erik," Charles pressed.

Erik nodded his head slightly, not knowing the truth that Charles had lost his powers. Once there silent agreement was established between the two of them they turned to walk out of the lift. Before they could even leave they were surrounded by six security guards, aiming their guns at the intruders who broke into the Pentagon.

"Nobody move! Hold it right there!" an officer shouted.

"Charles," Erik called, turning to his friend.

"Don't move! Hands up, or we will shoot!" another ordered.

"Freeze them Charles," Erik instructed him.

"I can't," Charles admitted bitterly.

Erik's face dropped, looking at his old friend then faced forward with a look of determination. Suddenly, all the metal in the room began to vibrate.

"No!" Charles cried, as the metal rose into the air causing the guards to fire their guns.

Logan held up his hand and his bone claws began to protrude from his knuckles. While Peter put on his goggles and slid on his headphones and began to zip around the room. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion compared to the pace that Peter was moving. He knocked some guards' hats off, poked another one's cheek as he ran along the wall. He set one of the officer's fist right beside his own face, so he'd knock himself out. He pulled a plate out of the air and sent it flying across the room. He gave two men a wedgies and raced back to move the bullets fired from the officers guns from their targets. He raised them slightly above everyone's head and stood back in his place.

Erik was the first to recover from the shock of everything that had just happened. They all looked around in complete confusion. Charles looked at the young man who was smiling at them. Charles made his way through the kitchen and out the door without even a second glance. Erik looked down at Logan's claws for a moment, and followed Charles out.

Logan nodded, "Thanks, kid," Logan said, patting Peter on the shoulder as he passed.

Peter grinned and jogged to catch up with everyone. The mutants left the Pentagon building as quickly as they could. Hank stood outside with the car, waiting for them to return. Hank started the car immediately as soon as he saw everyone, once the five men were seated in the car Hank took off from the parking lot.

"So that's it, then? Right?" Peter asked, looking at the older mutants.

"Still gotta get Claudia," Hank replied, focusing on the road.

"_Get_?" Erik repeated, before glancing at Charles. "I was wondering why the lovely Claudia was strangely absent from your side," Erik stated.

Charles' lips formed into a thin line, "It's a long story that I rather not get into right now," Charles complained, narrowing his eyes at Erik. "I hope either of you remember seeing her address in the phone book, because I don't," Charles said.

"Well, that's the thing, I didn't see a Claudia Walker listed," Logan responded, frustration lining his forehead. "We have no way of finding her," he added.

Hank began to shift uncomfortably in the driver's seat which Charles noticed, frowning he slowly leaned forward in his seat.

"What is it, Hank?" Charles asked, sensing something was off.

Hank was most definitely hiding something, and it was setting Charles on edge slightly. Even Logan seemed to pick this up and looked curiously at him.

"Charles..." Hank called. "How angry would you be if I told you I had Claudia's address for several years now?" Hank asked.

* * *

_**AN: It's what you all been waiting for...Claudia finally appears in the next chapter!** _


	5. A Summer Place

**_AN: Here it is folks! You finally get a taste of what Claudia been up to over the years.  
_**

* * *

_She was laying on their shared bed with nothing on but one of Charles' shirt__, her legs tucked slightly to let the natural curves of them lead up to her thighs and to more scenic places, __reading a book. __Charles was reading a novel of his own, leaning against the headboard of the bed, but he found it hard to concentrate on the text in front of him when there was a beautiful woman laying opposite of him._

_Claudia caught Charles' eyes on her, and broke out into a grin that almost made him reach across the bed and drag her mouth to his, kissing away that smile and make it his own forever._

_"Why are you staring at me like that Charles?" Claudia asked, a soft grin pulling at her lips._

_"Because you're breathtaking love," __He breathed, giving a lopsided smile._

_Claudia rolled her eyes, feeling her face flush with heat, "I'm only in one your button ups Charles," she replied, slightly laughing._

_"Hmm, and you wear it so well darling," Charles purred, running a finger up and down her ankle._

__Snapping her book shut, not caring where she left off, Claudia righted herself and crawled over to Charles and he gathered her in his arms and held her to his body. She burrowed herself into Charles and he nuzzled his nose into her hair, inhaling deeply.__

__"Sometimes I think to myself of how lucky I am to have met you," Charles murmured, against Claudia's ear. "To be with you," he added, using the back of his finger ____to caress her cheek.  
__

__Claudia lifted her head slightly from Charles' shoulder, "I love you Charles," she breathed, bumping her nose with his.__

__"And I love you," Charles smiled, his words ghosting over her lips.__

__Their noses bumping into each other until Charles lowered Claudia back onto the bed, capturing her lips in a fiery kiss.__

~~~x~~~

"Hank I still can't believe you kept Claudia's address a secret for all these years," Charles fumed, glaring at Hank and then out the backseat window.

"Do you honestly think she would even want to see you after everything you said to her?" Hank asked back, letting out a scoff.

The trees passed by as they drove down a side road in Richmond, Virginia. The car slowly came to a stop as they reached a local park. As all the men piled out of the rental car, they began to observe the serene environment. The trees bent softly with the wind, the wind carrying the laughter of children running around the playground, being princesses and mighty warriors in their own worlds. Erik gazed across the street, seeing only children and their parents, and became confused.

Charles' brows furrowed, "Are you sure this is the right neighborhood?" Charles questioned, doing a slow 360 turn as his eyes swept their surroundings. The neighborhood had elegant, Victorian-style homes lined on each side of the street in various colors, manicured lawns and ample yard space. "This seems too..._suburban_ for someone like Claudia," Charles stated.

"Claudia was always one for the city," Erik added, staring at a sign informing residents that the neighborhood watch worked round the clock.

"This is the type of place where you would settle down and start a family..." Charles voice faded, at his own assessment.

Hank unfolded a piece of wrinkled, almost yellowing paper, "She gave me this address in 1967, I called the number she gave me, but no one answered. There's no telling if she still lives there or not," Hank said, smoothing the paper out. "This way," Hank announced, walking down the sidewalk and everyone followed him.

Several times, they had to stop before they collided with humans half their size, smiling kindly as the children took off giggling.

"So you and Claudia split up then," Erik began, just loud enough for only Charles to hear as Peter, Hank, and Logan walked ahead.

"Obviously," Charles bit back, not wanting to talk about it.

Erik shook his head, "Never thought I'd see that happen, she thought the _world_ of you," Erik started, but was interrupted by shrieks of laughter as they passed a yellow two story home, the sprinklers were on and three children under the age of eight, raced through the water in swimsuits. "Such a shame isn't it, you had a woman like Claudia and _you_ let her go," Erik mentioned casually, letting out a tsk before quickening his pace to catch up with the group.

Erik's statement pierced Charles like a twisting knife through the heart. A frown lined Charles' forehead as he let out a deep breath, he had no idea what he was going to say once he saw her.

"Here we are," Hank notified, stopping in front of a house. "1342 West Main Street," Hank read, looking down at the piece of paper and glancing up at the front door.

The house was beautiful, a three story updated cream colored Victorian mansion, leading to the garage to the road is a brick driveway. The front of the mansion had a tan painted wooden porch with five sturdy and wide steps. The porch cover had white shingles and a comfortable beige two person porch swing hanging from the ceiling. It was spacious enough for one or more people to stand on the wide front porch with ease to overlook the large front yard with tall oaks that displayed their rich, green foliage and beautiful shrubs carefully trimmed.

"Is your friend rich?" Peter asked, staring in awe at the house.

Erik slid his hands into his pockets, "If she wills it so," he quipped, hinting at her power.

"Sounds strangely ominous," Logan commented, glancing Erik then back at the house.

"There's a car in the driveway, so someone's home," Erik observed, before walking up the porch steps. "Come on, let's go, no need to prolong this any longer than we have to," he stated, climbing the stairs.

Everyone walked up the stairs without hesitation, but Charles remained at the bottom of the porch still looking up at the mansion. His stomach was twisting itself into knots, he couldn't shake the feeling of restless nervousness that's been building up within him since D.C. The thought of walking up the grand staircase leading to the door frightened him, what if she didn't _want_ to see him?

Claudia was never one to forgive easy.

"Did I tell you why Claudia has to be involved?" Charles questioned, trying to find some excuse not to face his ex-fiance.

"No, you didn't mention," Logan answered. "But you have to do this. You insisted, like I said," he reminded.

"Why? She dies, but so will I someday. We all will," Charles pointed out lamely.

"Her dying should be reason enough Charles," Erik stated, narrowing his eyes at him.

Charles threw his hands up in a gesture of surrender, "You're right, you're right," Charles conceded, making his way up the steps giving himself a constant pep talk as went.

Hank raised one of his thin fingers and pressed the doorbell, the ringing of the bell echoed through the house, but no one came to greet them. Hank waited another thirty seconds before he pressed the doorbell a second time, still there wasn't a sign of movement from within the home.

"Maybe she's not home," Hank suggested, cupping his hands to peer through the front door window, but the glass was frosted.

"Or she's ignoring us," Charles reckoned.

"I'm one to never turn down the opportunity to use my powers," Peter offered, getting ready to take off until Erik clasped his hand on his shoulder.

"Not if you value your life," Erik cautioned, letting him go. "Claudia, is the last person to be trifled with," he added.

Logan raised his eyebrow at this, _"Who was this woman?" he_ _thought_.

Suddenly, Logan's ear perked up at the sound of music playing faintly.

"Do any of you hear that?" Logan asked, craning his neck as he moved away from the front door.

"Hear what?" Charles asked.

"There's music being played," Logan answered, walking down the porch steps. "It's coming from the backyard," he continued, making his to the gate.

They followed behind the man and as they got closer to the gate the sound of orchestral music could be heard wafting from the backyard. Logan unlatched the back gate, walking across the plush green lawn now being able to fully hear the crooning of Andy Williams singing _A Summer Place_.

_There's a summer place_  
_Where it may rain or storm_

Moving further into the backyard Logan was stunned by its opulence. There was a stone patio attached to the home designed with veranda arches, an in ground pool was centered in the middle of grand, park-like backyard. The pool was surrounded by tan stone tiles which extended from the deck against the house. To the left side of the deck was a grill and a round white table with a white umbrella and a couple of garden chairs and on the right had an in-ground jacuzzi. If anyone stood on the deck and looked up they would notice a balcony.

_For within that summer place_  
_Your arms reach out to me_

Logan's gaze halted as he spotted a figure of a woman in a pool chair underneath an umbrella, lounging with one leg outstretched and the other pulled in immersed in her reading. The woman was not far off from the backyard gate, but she didn't move, seemingly unaware that there were guests with her. The record player was playing right next to her, the music must of masked the noise of the gate opening as she kept absently swaying her foot back and forth to the song.

_There are no gloomy skies_  
_When seen through the eyes_

"Well, if that's her, she's certainly living lavishly," Erik observed, simply amazed at the wealth of the homeowner.

Charles' eyes swept around the backyard newly in amazement. He was speechless as a matter of fact. If the woman under the umbrella was Claudia, Charles began to wonder who was the rich man that swept her off her feet and married her. As the men approached the woman they suddenly felt their legs lock up, except for Hank's. Logan, Erik, Charles, and Peter all looked down to see violet wisps surrounding their lower limbs.

"What the hell?" Logan muttered, as Erik and Charles both glanced at each other.

"Now Hank," a familiar female voice called out over the music. "When I invited you to stop by my house whenever you please, that invitation wasn't extended to a _stranger_, a _wanted criminal_, a _drug abuser_, and a..." the woman paused, and loudly sniffed the air twice. "A _dog_," she finished, never turning to face them.

"I wouldn't have brought them along if this wasn't important," Hank explained, taking a step closer.

"We need your help Claudia,"

* * *

_**AN: A 1973 sighting of Claudia has appeared, even though it was a tease. As you can see, Claudia is living her best life right now. I don't know why, but for some reason A Summer Place seemed to fit in with this chapter to give you a feel of how carefree Claudia is living. Anyways, buckle up people it's going to be wild ride!  
**_


	6. Hell Hath No Fury

_**AN: Here it is, what you all been waiting for!  
**_

* * *

**_Claudia's POV_**

_This was not what I was expecting today._

Today was supposed to be another ordinary day, I just returned from the airport an hour ago after dropping my parents off, it was a lovely week of fun spending time with my parents. And at that moment, nothing felt better than falling into a deep sleep, but the weather was too nice for me to nap the day away. The sun was warm enough, watery in the way it was just before the heat of the evening, but there was a slight chill on the breeze that would make you shiver for sure once you got out of the water wet, still it was perfect swimming weather.

Underneath my umbrella, I sat in my chair sipping from my glass of lemonade absently in one hand while my other hand held the latest copy of _Jet _magazine. This is how a summer day should always be. Refreshing. Cool. And with Andy Williams soothing voice as background noise, god, I almost wanted to dance and laugh and smile and sing all at the same time. For once, I was glad that none of the neighborhood children were begging to play in the pool.

Everything was perfect.

And then _it _happened.

I was enjoying the serene moment until a sudden rush of emotions gushed up to the forefront of my consciousness. Thrill, excitement, determination, annoyance, and curiosity they flooded my senses. I could almost feel the tingling of my powers tickling me on my fingertips. But one stood out above all of them.

_Guilt_.

With the slightest of movement I flicked my fingers immobilizing four out of the five men in my backyard, "Now Hank," I called out, setting down my glass and magazine on a small table next to me. "When I invited you to stop by my house whenever you please, that invitation wasn't extended to a _stranger_, a _wanted criminal_, a _drug abuser_, and a..." I paused, and loudly sniffed the air twice. "A _dog_," I finished, not bothering to turn around.

"I wouldn't have brought them along if this wasn't important," Hank explained. "We need your help Claudia," he added.

"You've go to be kidding me?" I breathed, as released my telekinetic hold. I swung my legs over the side of my lounge chair and slipped on the silk robe that was on back of it. "I let the maids take off _one_ day and look what happens," I complained, rolling my eyes before lifting the needle of my recorder player.

I rose from my seat, sliding my shoes on and with a slow sauntering gait, I walked towards the group. I was thankful for the round, oversized sunglasses that I was wearing, for the dark brown frames hid how my eyes slightly widened at Charles' appearance. Charles looked...well he looked god awful, to be honest. Charles had always kept himself cleanly shaved, but now he had let his facial hair grow wildly on his face, even his shortly kept brown hair had grown out. And the dark bags under his eyes, it seemed like Charles hasn't a had good night's rest in _years._

And Erik, for someone that's been imprisoned underneath The Pentagon he still managed to maintain his handsome, clean shaven, and chiseled face. You would think that the roles had been reversed, that Charles was the one who had been locked up and not Erik by their appearances. Numerous thoughts and feelings threatened to flood my mind, but I didn't allow it. Not yet. I just needed to focus on how to get them to leave.

"Wow, your lady friend is smokin' hot," the silver-haired boy stated, gawking at me in my v-cut one piece swimsuit which had the sides cutout.

I stopped in front of them with my hand on my hip, looking from the unknown man with sideburns to Charles and then Erik. Slowly, I used my free hand to remove my sunglasses from my face, my eyes narrowed.

"Charles," I greeted simply, as Hank shuffled slightly.

Charles stood in shock for a moment staring at me dumbly, probably just in as much shock from seeing me after all these years and how I changed. My long, black locks no longer fell down to my shoulders, but now floated above it in thick, tight curls of my afro. My chestnut brown skin was tanned from the warm summer sun, but still as radiant as ever.

"Y-You look well," Charles complimented smiling slightly, recovering from his lapse of silence, as he stared at me.

"You look like _shit_," I snorted, letting out a chuckle as I folded my sunglasses up and putting them into my pocket "The years haven't been kind to you have they?" I asked rhetorically, folding my arms together. "Tell me Charles, are you _happier_ now that I'm gone?" I asked mockingly. "It sure doesn't seem like it," I added, really laying it on thick.

"Claudia, we are not here for this," 'Sideburns' grumbled.

I tuned my head slightly to the man, leveling him with a venomous look, "I'm sorry, but who the hell are you?" I questioned, arching a brow.

My eyes scanned over the man's appearance, he was a little more than six feet tall, and was probably in his early or mid thirties. He had to be military or ex-military because he was built like a soldier, his muscles seemed to be harder than a tree from the way his clothes clung to him. Dark brown sideburns came down his face which reached his cheeks along with a five o'clock shadow. Anger seemed to ooze out of this man's pores. I knew he could take care of his self in a fight if such an event were to ever occur.

"My name is Logan," he answered, his blue eyes burning like two hot coals as he stared into mine.

"Are you sure it's not _Dog_?" I asked, a wry grin appearing on my lips as I watched this man's jaw clench. "You know with the sideburns the similarities are..._uncanny_," I stated, shaking my head and focusing my attention to Hank who was next to me, and was about to open his mouth. "I could call the authorities you know?" I said, cutting Hank off. "Erik's bounty would fetch a substantial payout," I noted, tapping my index finger on my cheek, thinking.

"You seem to be getting on well enough as it is," Erik replied, flicking his chin out in regards to my home.

I raised my eyebrow, "So why settle for less?" I asked cheekily.

Erik scoffed in disbelief, "You would actually sell me out?" Erik asked, crossing his arms.

"I'm just doing my patriotic duty Erik," I answered, raising my hands up and shrugging.

"Claudia," Hank called softly, and I looked back over to him. "I know that you have every reason to be upset right now, but please hear us out," Hank pleaded.

"We need your help Claudia," Logan stated.

"Then go hire a maid," I retorted, waving him off.

Logan growled in frustration, "Do you know how much trouble we been through just to break Erik out of the Pentagon and now to get you?" he asked, furrowing his brows.

I slid my hands into my robe pockets, "Sounds like a personal problem," I replied, shrugging again. "I didn't force you to do any of this," I pointed out with a grin.

Logan's hand clenched itself in a tight fist, "Listen lady, I've had-" Logan gritted out.

"No, _you _listen," I interrupted, stepping closer to him. "I don't know who the hell you think are to think that you can waltz into _my _backyard and start making demands of me," I sassed, looking Logan up and down. I stepped in front of Hank and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hank, under any other circumstance I would be happy to see you, or even help you. But due to the fact that there are some..." I trailed, looking back at Erik and Charles. "_Undesirable _individuals with you," I continued, focusing my attention back to Hank. "If I were to join this little party of yours it would never work. You see Hank, I live a very _comfortable _life now and I'm not giving it up for the likes of them," I finished, shaking my head.

"But it's not for them Claudia, it's for humanity itself. We're trying to save the world," Hank explained, giving me a pleading look.

"Hmmm," I hummed, a sardonic smile on my lips as I shook my head again. "Funny, they said the same thing in 1962," I remembered. "Truly Hank, it was nice to see you after all these years," I smiled, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze before removing my hand and turning to face the men behind me. "But, it's time for you and your guests to leave. You have overstayed your welcome," I said, gesturing to the backyard gate. "Safe travels," I added, spinning on my heel and moving past Hank toward my backdoor.

"You're just going to let her go?" I heard Logan ask. "To hell with this," he grumbled.

"Logan don't-"

I went to take another step forward, but a calloused hand roughly grabbed my wrist, spinning me around and making our bodies bump into each other.

"We're not going anywhere until you fully hear us out!" Logan exclaimed, as I glared at him. "I'm not sure what it is about you that makes Charles and Erik so subdue, but I'm not them. I'm not afraid of you!" he announced,keeping his grip tight around my wrist.

Instinctively, my free hand bawled itself into a fist cloaked in a violet aura as a scowl made its way onto my face.

"Uhh mister her hand is glowing," the silver-haired boy informed, as I swung a powerful blow to Logan's jaw, his body crumpling on the lawn.

"They're not scared, they just know better," I corrected, spreading my fingers out and the aura spread from my hand to encasing Logan's limbs. Forcefully, I planted my foot down onto Logan's chest, tilting my head as I looked down at him. "But you? Why in the world would you be? I'm nothing to be afraid of, as you can obviously tell. I'm far too small to be any threat to a _big_, _strong _man like you," I mocked, pressing my foot down even harder and Logan glared daggers at me.

"Claudia-" Charles began, but I just lifted one finger silencing him.

"Typically, I wouldn't be opposed to ripping your limbs off right now," I explained, stretching my fingers out slightly and Logan grunted at the modest tugs at his limbs. "But I would hate to get this freshly mowed lawn all bloody. One of the neighborhood boys worked so hard on it," I explained. "Now, like I said before, it's time for you to go," I enunciated slowly, hoping that it would get through that thick skull of his.

I removed my foot from Logan's chest, shooting him one more glare before I walked to the backdoor. As I opened the backdoor to my home I released my hold on Logan's appendages.

"Wow Charles, you sure know how to pick them," Logan drawled sarcastically.

And with a wave of my hand I forcefully shut the door behind me.

* * *

_**AN: Claudia was not happy at all, was she?  
**_


	7. A Woman Scorned

_**AN: I have a very long chapter in store for you all and I hope you like it!  
**_

* * *

_**Third POV**_

"_She's _the woman that I'm supposed to save?" Logan asked rhetorically, disbelief and annoyance lining his features.

Logan pushed himself up from the well-manicured lawn and dusted himself off, beginning to wonder why were they even bothering to chase after someone who wants to be left alone.

"She certainly has remained true to her name," Erik commented, with a slight chuckle.

"And what is that?" Logan grumbled.

Hank's eyes remained on the backdoor, "Blythe," he answered, remembering that he was the one that gave the name to Claudia.

Logan cracked his neck from side to side, "Do you usually go for the murderous types?" Logan couldn't help but ask.

Charles rubbed a hand against his forehead, "I-I don't understand, Claudia was never one to be so...vindictive," Charles stated, at a loss for words. "She isn't..._wasn't_ like that," He corrected, staring at Logan

As much as he hated to admit it, Charles didn't know what Claudia was like now. And it hurt and frightened him.

"Then you don't know Claudia as well as you think do," Erik chuckled, looking at Charles. Charles almost felt as if Erik was mocking him. "Or maybe she never felt the need to pull out that side of her when she was with you," Erik theorized, with a slight of shrug of his shoulders. "Still, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Erik chuckled.

"I think I would know my ex-fiancee pretty well, thank you very much," Charles snapped.

Erik's eyes widened, "Your _ex-fiancee_," Erik repeated. "Well now, the plot keeps getting thicker doesn't it?" he mocked.

Charles balled his hand into a fist, but ignored Erik's statement, choosing instead to rush past him to get to the backdoor.

"I have to talk her," Charles insisted, taking another step forward to the backdoor as Hank moved in front of him.

"I really don't think that's a good idea Professor," Hank warned, shaking his head.

"She's not going to hurt me Hank," Charles pointed out.

Erik gave him a look, "The Claudia we knew eleven years ago wouldn't have hurt you," Erik pointed out. "This Claudia now, I'm not so sure," Erik replied, shaking his head as well. "You saw what she did to Logan," he reminded. "And that was her being nice I think," Erik quipped.

"I'm curious, what exactly is her mutation?" Logan questioned, thinking about the purple aura that Claudia produced earlier.

"Claudia, she's an empath, she can manipulates emotions," Charles explained, running a hand through his hair. "She's also telekinetic, that's how she immobilized us when we stepped in the backyard," he added.

"Charles, you are powerless and you want to talk to a woman who has two dangerous mutations _and_ is pissed off at you," Logan stated incredulously.

"Do we want to get Claudia's help or not?" Charles asked, staring at the group.

Charles himself was very unsure about the entire situation, but at this point it was his best option.

~~~x~~~

_**Claudia's POV**_

My eyes swept over the room that I currently resided in, the walls around me were a fine plaster with an ornate, white wainscot that were lined with classical styled paintings. The floor was a dark mahogany wood, maintained and polished, partially covered by an intricate Persian rug. Two floor to ceiling bookshelves filled with classic novels stood behind me and a huge, cherry oak desk was ahead of me.

It was a beautiful room, and because of it's beauty I was hoping it would take my mind off of the unwanted visitors that I left in my backyard. I took a swig of brandy, perhaps it would settle my mind, calm me down. I put my glass down and closed my eyes, feeling myself sink down into the cushion. It was all going well until I felt an emotional surge that was not my own. A sigh left my lips out of annoyance, if I had even attempted to open my eyes, I would definitely be rolling them.

"Have you gone deaf?" I asked aloud, sitting in my elegant, leather brass chair, waiting for him to enter my office. "I told you to leave," I finished, opening my eyes as they landed on Charles' figure.

"Claudia listen-"

"How long has it been since we last saw each other?" I asked myself, setting my brandy down. "Almost what, six years now?" I questioned tilting my head down, my eyes narrowing down upon him. "And you have the audacity to come to my home, after all these years for my help," I continued, as Charles squirmed under the borderline malicious intensity that is coming from my eyes. "It's unbelievable, dare I say laughable,"

"I was a fool to let you go," Charles admitted, taking a step closer to the desk. "You were the light in my life,"

"And like all lights you snuffed me out," I retorted, my eyes grating against him. "I hope the drugs, serum, and alcohol were worth it," I sneered.

Charles' frown deepened, his eyes darkening underneath as a wave of sadness washed over me.

"I know I am the very last person you want to see darling-" Charles started.

I slammed my hand against the desk causing Charles to flinch, "I'm _not_ your _Darling_," I gritted out, narrowing my eyes at him dangerously and leaning forward in my chair.

I closed my eyes and took a deep calming breath to regain my composure, I leaned back in my seat and placed my hands in my laps. I opened my eyes to catch Charles' pitying stare.

"But maybe I should be thanking you in a way," I began, interlocking my fingers together. "If it wasn't for your awful treatment that pushed me to leave you, I would have never gotten to travel the world," I informed, staring past Charles and at the pictures lining the tops of my cabinets.

Charles turned around and saw the pictures of my family and I covered one cabinet top while the other cabinet top held pictures of myself and the friends I made while I lived in Paris, Barcelona, and London. Charles' eyes focused on one particular picture, the first one being a photo of a dark skinned man and I in front of the Eiffel Tower. His figure towered over mine with his arms tightly wrapped around my waist, leaning down to press a kiss to my cheek.

_Jean_. He was handsome. Very handsome.

A mixture of surprise, curiosity and perhaps _a little_ bit of envy fell over me. Frowning, Charles slowly reached out to another frame and lifted it up, the photo inside showed a young, Black girl and I. The two of us grinning brightly at the camera from where we sat on a floor as I styled the young girl's thick curly hair. _Anna. _She had always smiled, and always laughed.

Charles' eyes bounced from the pictures to myself repeatedly, while I merely looked at him, daring him to ask the question out loud.

"Is that your...Is he...Are they," Charles stuttered.

"Are they my family?" I asked, finishing his question and lifting my brow. "How would you feel if I said yes?" I asked, shifting myself in my chair with one arm baring down on the arm rest. "That I started a family and live happily now," I added, and a sudden stinging pain of sorrow hit me in the head like a brick.

Well, I guess know how he feels.

Charles placed the frame back down onto the cabinet, "So after you gave up on me and left, you went on to live a fairy tale?"

Furious, I pushed off the desk and stood up from my chair, "You didn't give me much of choice Charles!" I exclaimed. "You tossed me aside like trash to make room for your addiction!" I shouted, my brown eyes glaring hard at him vehemently. "I tried Charles, I _tried_! All my words of comfort, they fell onto deaf ears, you were so determined to turn everything into a negative," I continued, my voice softening now. "I ignored my own pain that I was going through for _you,_ Charles," I breathed out a sad laugh. "You barely seem to notice. You never cared about how I felt, you never asked about how I was feeling and I couldn't take it anymore Charles, I couldn't," I finished, stepping from behind my desk.

"We could have worked through it, like we always did," Charles said, stretching his hand out.

"I didn't want to Charles! It was a vicious cycle of broken promises every time and I couldn't handle it anymore," I responded, shaking my head.

Charles chuckled mirthlessly, "Did you even want our relationship to work Claudia?" he asked.

I looked at him sharply, "Of course I did! But you were such a miserable person to be around," I explained, placing my hands on my hips. "I didn't feel like I was your fiancee anymore, I was just your housekeeper. Keeping your house in order and your emotions," I continued, stepping closer to him. "Do you even remember _that_ night?" I asked, now crossing my arms over my chest. "I had already made up my mind about leaving, but _you, _you definitely put the nail in the coffin that night," I remembered.

Charles had no response to that, so he said nothing, looking around the room to avoid my stare.

"Here, let me refresh your memory," I offered mockingly.

~~~x~~~

_Thunder crashed loudly and the streaks of bright white lightning danced across the night sky. Heavy rain fell from the sky, the water droplets bounced harmlessly off the window panes of Charles' room in front of me. I swirled my glass of red wine aimlessly as I watched raindrop after raindrop race down the window before turning around to move over to the record player nearby. Opening the lid of it, I flipped the player on and the vinyl record already on it begins to spin. Carefully, the needle is placed down on the edge of the record, emitting the rhythmic beat of drumming and the sound of bluesy piano notes._

_I lifted my glass to my mouth to take a sip of my Malbec as I stared at Charles while listening to Aretha Franklin's voice._

_You're a no good heart breaker_  
_You're a liar and you're a cheat_

_My lip curled upward as I looked at Charles in utter disdain as he went through his daily routine. First it was him grabbing his old trustworthy belt, then came the needle, next it was the bottle, and lastly the high. Hank managed to create this serum that allowed Charles to walk once more. On one condition, his telepathic powers would be gone for as long as the serum coursed through his veins. Charles didn't even think twice, he took it as soon as he heard of it. And for a moment, I was happy to see that sparkle in Charles' eyes return, to see a smile on Charles' face again. We were happy._

_That was until Charles became addicted to it._

_My friends keep telling me_  
_That you ain't no good_

_I took another sip of the wine as my eyes scanned over the messy room, there were several bottles of liquor strewn about, clean and dirty clothes were lain all across the floor, papers littered the desk and other pieces of furniture, and the room smelt of a foul odor that I couldn't exactly identify. This was the awful state of our bedroom, no, Charles' bedroom. Once upon a time we used to share this room together, but now I slept down the hall in the comforts of my old bedroom._

_But oh, they don't know_  
_That I'd leave you if I could_

_And in the center of this eyesore of a bedroom was my lovely fiance, Charles Xavier, who was slumped down into his armchair. I placed my glass down on the table next to me and began spinning my engagement ring around my finger, biting back the urge to scoff at the piece of jewelry. I'm not sure why I still bothered to where this damn ring, Charles hadn't worn his in months. A frown formed on my face as I continued to stare down at the ring, slowly I began to slide the ring off my finger._

_"Claudia love," Charles called, startling me and I pushed my ring back down. "Why is there a frown lining that beautiful face of yours?" he questioned, and a soft sardonic chuckle escaped me._

_I raised my head to look at him, "When I envisioned what my life would be like at twenty-six...it looked very different than what it is now," I explained, my voice took on a bitter tone. "I thought I would be working at my dream job, own my home, maybe get married," I listed, letting out a humorless laugh._

_Charles now stood right in front of me and cupped my face with his hands, "You will get married Claudia, to me remember?" Charles reminded softly. "You're going to become Mrs. Xavier," he announced, as he brushed my hair away from my face and leaned down to kiss me._

_The stench of liquor emanating from Charles' breath made me scrunch my nose up and pull back from Charles' attempt of what surely would have been a sloppy kiss. I placed my hands on Charles' chest and slightly pushed him away from me. Charles stared at me, hurt evident in his eyes by my actions. He looked like he didn't understand._

_"You honestly think I believe that we're still getting married?" I asked with a scoff. "For the past two months, you've barely been out of this filthy room!" I shouted in frustration, my body so tense I couldn't stop myself from shaking. "Day in and day out it's the same goddamn routine, and I'm so, so sick of it!" I continued, throwing my arm out._

_"I-I don't understand, where is this coming from Claudia?" Charles asked confused, taking a small step toward me._

_"Ha," I laughed in disbelief. "I'm done Charles!" I shouted, stretching my arms out. "I'm leaving!" I announced, moving past him and towards the door._

_"Wha-" Charles stammered, his orbs searching mine frantically. "What do you mean?" he asked again._

_Yanking the door open, "It's exactly what I said!" I exclaimed, looking back over to Charles. "I can't keep pretending that we're this happy couple, Charles! I can't! I'm not! So, for my own well being I'm leaving you. If you want to remain on this path to self-destruction then go ahead Charles, be my guest, but I'm not going to be apart of it. I've wasted years of my life trying to help a man who clearly doesn't want it!" I exclaimed, moving into the hallway._

_"You know what Claudia? Go ahead, leave! I don't need you, I never did!" Charles shouted back, following behind me. "You're always waiting for an opportunity to point out my flaws, but yet do nothing to help me solve them! he snapped._

_I whipped my body around to face him, "That's a lie and you know it!" I exclaimed, pointing my finger at him._

_"You're a useless woman! You know maybe I'd be happier if you weren't here Claudia! Charles spat._

_I felt hot tears threaten to spill from my eyes __and even if it was in no way logical, I didn't want Charles to see me hurt. Silence consumed us, as I stared at Charles not fully believing what he just said to me. Within Charles' room I could still hear the record playing and Aretha Franklin's voice rang out.  
_

__Ain't never had a man hurt me so bad__

__"Oh Aretha, how you right are," I thought.__

__"Claudia.." Hank called from the bottom of the stairs.__

_I looked back over to Charles, "That makes two of us," I responded, my voice barely above a whisper._

_I reached down to my finger and slid off my ring and threw it at Charles. Giving him a glare of pure loathing, and bumped into Charles' shoulder as I hurried to my room. __I burst into my bedroom with anger pulsating from every inch of my being. __My suitcases were resting under my bed and I yanked them out before throwing them forcefully on the bed. _

_I felt Hank's presence at my doorway, but I didn't pay him any attention. Instead, I began pulling out my dresser drawers and rounding up as many of my clothes that I could and throwing them into the suitcases. I, Claudia Walker never threw anything, and least of all my clothes. They were always meticulously folded and carefully placed on top of each other, whether in a suitcase or a wardrobe. But right now they were strewn all over the space of the suitcase._

_Every time I slammed a dresser drawer shut, Hank would flinch._

_He had fully entered my room now, "Claudia?" Hank called, but I brushed past him to grab more of my belongings from anywhere else in the bedroom. "Claudia?" Hank called again._

_I slammed my suitcases shut simultaneously, my hands shaking as I snapped the closures in place. I dragged my suitcases off the bed and stormed out my room and into the hallway before descending the stairs in a hurry. From behind me I could hear fast-paced footfalls that I knew belonged to Hank. Hank reached for my arm in an attempt to stop me, but I ripped the appendage from his grasp easily and kept walking towards the front door. And, Hank took to following me like a pathetic lost puppy when I didn't turn back to look at him._

_"Claudia, Claudia, wait! Please, Claudia, just slow down. Please, just listen-" Hank begged._

_"To what?" I spun on my heel to face him, due to his inability to stop walking. "You heard what he said! He doesn't need me Hank!" I reminded, my grip tightening on my suitcases._

_"Claudia he didn't mean that, you know how he gets when he's had too much drink," Hank excused weakly._

_Justification for Charles' actions were completely out of the question. _

_"And that's supposed to make it okay?" I asked incredulously, glaring at him._

_My glare had him wincing back, "That's not what I meant Claudia-" Hank began._

_"Save it Hank!" I ordered, cutting him off. "Charles just made my life a hell of a lot easier by leaving him," I said, before walking again towards the front door._

_"Claudia, this will destroy him," Hank stated softly from behind me, making me freeze up for a moment._

_"Well he should've that before," I replied, my voice is quiet and hurt._

_"At least let me drive you to the bus station," Hank offered. "I'm not going to let you walk in the freezing cold rain," Hank continued, and he rested his hand on my shoulder before walking to get the car keys._

_Left alone in the hallway, I bent down, dropping my suitcases on the wooden floor and slowly spun around the large, grand space of the Xavier Mansion. The place I came to love, but now loathe. I looked out the window just as thunder cracked outside and the sky darkened further just like my mood. Looking down, I moved over to a mirror that hung in the foyer and gazed into it._

_My usually bright brown eyes had dulled and were now pensive, my expression solemn, as if I was having a mental argument with myself. I bit my lip as my brows knitted together, Charles Xavier, he was supposed to be different than the men I had known. But I was wrong, so very, very wrong. I turned my head away from the mirror, clenching my eyes shut briefly. Tears were threatening to spill from my lids again and I almost wanted to scream in frustration._

_I wasn't supposed to be crying. I wasn't supposed to be acting pitiful and pathetic. I was strong, dammit! I had undergone things people only experienced in their darkest nightmares. I had been enslaved, broken, and put back together only to be broken again. And here I am crying over some man. Frowning, I tried to stop the onslaught of tears from escaping._

_"Ready to go Claudia?" Hank asked, walking up beside me and shrugging on his jacket._

_Staring at my reflection, I watched as a few tears drip from my glazed eyes before wiping my face harshly with my hand. Life is too short, too unexpected and I needlessly spent them on a man who proved to be no different the rest. This departure was long overdue if tonight was any indicator of what was in store for me in the future. A hand, coming to rest just below my shoulder blade snapped me out of my thoughts._

_"Claudia?"_

_I looked over at Hank to see that he was holding my black wool coat out for me to put on. I gave a nod in thanks and let him slip the coat over me, not saying anything at first. And with that Hank and I walked to the front door, grabbing my suitcases on the way and left. I refused to look back as the door shut not only inside me, but also behind me, and I clutch my suitcase with shaking hands and walk away from that mansion._

_"This whole thing was a mistake," I said softly, finally speaking._

_And it was there, at the Xavier Mansion, I left behind a relationship I had invested everything in; all of my hopes and dreams, my future, my love, my care, and my entire being._

_~~~x~~~_

"So do not say that I gave up on you because I tried my damnedest to save you from yourself, but you refused," I reminded, moving closer to him. "You gave up on yourself Charles. And you preferred to stay broken!" I exclaimed, pointing down at the ground.

"And what?" he scoffed. "You honestly think leaving me helped? You broke me even further Claudia. And you didn't even think about that when you left!"

"I thought of _me_ for once!" I snapped, my breathing heavy and uneven, much too loud in the following silence. "I _loved_ you Charles, but I wasn't going to let you drag me along on your path to self-destruction and misery," I breathed, shaking my head.

Charles warily reached his hand out and to cup my cheek and I made no move to stop him, my brown irises stared into his deep blue ones, their depths full of despair.

"You _loved_ me?" Charles repeated in a hush tone, softly running his thumb up and down my skin. "Don't you mean-" he began.

"No," I interrupted, removing his hand from my face. "There is no love anymore...just resentment," I finished quietly, and he stepped away from me like I physically landed a blow to his stomach. Charles stared at me with a watery gaze. I let out a sigh and moved past him to the door to my office, stopping for a moment. "I'm going to get everyone else from the backyard since you all are determined to not leave. I'll hear you out Charles, but I make no promises," I stated, opening the door.

"You never really answered my question," Charles said softly, and I looked over my shoulder to see Charles' hunched form. "Are they your family?" he asked again.

"No Charles, they aren't," I answered truthfully. "If that gives you any comfort at all," I added, finally leaving the room.

Making my way down the long hallway tears began to brim at my eyes as I simultaneously was hit with a rush of agony and sorrow. I had forgotten how strong Charles' emotions could be. But was it just Charles' emotions and not my own? I could think of only one logical conclusion.

Grief was striking both of us.

~~~x~~~

"Usually I have a no pets policy in my house, but I'll make an exception today for you," I jested, looking over my shoulder at Logan, as we walked through the expansive back foyer with its walls painted gray complementing the dark oak hardwood floors.

Logan growled at me, baring his teeth as Hank's hand paused in its path towards his shoulder after Logan sent him a glare.

"She doesn't really mean that, she's just joking," Hank explained, looking at me. "Right Claudia?" he asked.

I ignored Hank's question and stared at the young man admiring the impressionistic paintings hanging on the walls. He was a bit too close for my taste.

"Touch any of these paintings and I will break your fingers," I threatened, and the silver-haired boy immediately snatched his hand away.

"Claudia, how did you acquire such a lovely home?" Erik questioned, looking around with his brows raised and a soft grin on his lips.

I looked back again at men following behind me, "I asked very nicely for it," I answered, giving him a mischievous grin of my own. I stopped at the entrance to my office, extended my hand out. "Step into my office gentlemen," I instructed, to which Logan rolled his eyes at but still entered along with the rest of the men. As the silver-haired boy went to walk in I placed my hand on his chest, stopping him in his tracks. "Adults only, you go wait in the den," I instructed, shooing him away.

"I don't know where-" he began.

"Down the hall and to the right," I stated, before stepping into the room and closing the door behind me.

Walking past Hank, Erik, Charles, and Logan I moved over to my bar cart, in sudden need of a drink. Pouring myself another glass of brandy I sipped from my drink before going back to my desk.

Charles and Erik sat down in the two chairs in front of me, while Hank and Logan opted to stand. I noticed Logan staring at the pictures that Charles was looking at earlier, even going so far to pick up one of them.

"Having fun?" I asked, watching Logan stare at the photo of Jean, Anna, and I. "You do know it's quite rude to snoop around," I added, as Logan turned around to face me. Logan placed the photo back and moved closer to my desk where everyone else was. "So gentlemen, please tell me what it is that is so pressing that you refuse leave my home," I stated, taking a seat into my chair leaning back.

"We need your help to stop Raven," Hank began.

I snorted and turned to look out the arched windows of the room, "Jesus Christ, we're really taking a trip down memory lane aren't we?" I asked rhetorically, looking back over to Hank.

Logan took a step closer to my desk, "I was sent here to find you, so you could help us," Logan explained, and I opened my mouth to respond. "And you need to let me explain," Logan continued cutting me off and I threw my hands up in surrender.

"Who were you sent by?" I asked curiously, lifting my hand up to glance at my manicured nails.

"Charles...and...Erik..." he answered, and I quirked my eyebrow up.

"I don't see how that is possible," I remarked, tilting my head. "Their schedules have been quite full,you know with Erik being heavily guarded 24/7 and Charles doing god knows what at his mansion. I just find it hard to believe that the two of them had time to correspond with each other," I finished, glancing at the two men in front of me.

"Well, it was in the future," Logan corrected. "Fifty years from now," he added.

"The _future_?" I repeated, struggling to contain the grin that was threatening to appear.

"Yeah, a mutant sent me back in time, here," Logan explained, as I put my hand in front of my mouth to hide my grin.

Laughter bubbled from lips and I threw my head back slightly at the absurdity of all this.

"Oh my god, are you on acid?" I laughed, slapping my hand down on the armrest.

"Claudia," Erik called, making lower my head to see his exasperated expression.

I waved my hand, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I said, amidst breathless giggles. "Okay, so Charles and Erik sent you from the future to come get me so that we can stop Raven," I restated, looking at Logan for confirmation and he gave a nod. "What exactly are we stopping her from doing?" I questioned, before lifting my glass of brandy to my lips.

"There's this man named Trask, and Raven tries to kill this man. And she succeeds...but in turn they capture her. Using her DNA, the government created Sentinels. They can kill any mutant and they cannot be destroyed by any mutants. And they're going to hunt us down until we're all dead,"

"Sounds like a shitty future," I commented, twisting a strand of hair around my finger while sipping from my glass again.

"We have to stop her, Claudia," Charles pressed, staring at me.

I glanced at Logan, "Say if I were to believe you about all of _this_," I began, crossing my leg on top of the other. "I'm speculating that in this future I'm not there am I?" I asked, swirling my glass around. "I didn't make it," I added.

"No, you didn't," Logan replied, and I noticed Charles glance downward and Erik tense up and bawl his fist. "Hell, I didn't even know you existed. Charles only mentioned you before I traveled here," Logan added.

"How grand," I stated, letting out humorless chuckle before looking out the window again.

On the exterior I kept a cool expression, but internally I was quite taken aback by what I just told, I needed some time to absorb such a revelation.

_"Me, dead? I know death is inevitable...but it seems like my death was premature," I thought._

An eerie silence filled the room and I glanced over to pictures of Jean and Anna, as I stared at the pictures an awful thought crossed my mind.

_"What if they don't make it either?" I thought. "But they're human, they should be fine right?"_

"Claudia," Charles prompted. "Will you help us?" he asked, with a hopeful expression.

The feeling of unease formed in the pit of my stomach, but I kept it carefully hidden. I lifted my fingers to my temple, leaning my head against them as my gaze shifted from my drink to him.

"No," I answered, which only made my uneasiness grow stronger but I pushed it away.

"W-What?" Charles sputtered.

"Are you serious? What the hell is wrong with you?" Logan exclaimed, but I didn't flinch.

"Claudia, you know that's he telling the truth," Erik pointed out. "Why won't you help us?"

"Simple, I live a perfectly, good life now," I answered, with a small shrug. "As I said earlier," I pointed out, before downing the rest of my drink.

"You said the same thing 1962," Erik retorted.

"Yeah, but _now_ I actually have a perfectly good life," I quipped, lifting my hands up. "Lovely home, nice neighborhood, great neighbors," I listed, counting it off with my fingers.

"And I'm sure you gained all of that by _asking_ very nicely," Erik deadpanned, rolling his eyes. "This little utopia you created, it was all through your abilities wasn't it?" Erik questioned.

"I did say that didn't I?" I questioned with a proud grin.

"This whole neighborhood is under your influence?" Hank asked curiously.

"Heavens no," I answered, staring at Hank. "Well, at least not all the time," I admitted, rolling my eyes.

"Jesus Claudia,"

"Sometimes, when I get bored I have them line up at my front porch and give me compliments," I chirped.

"Please tell me she's joking," Logan grumbled.

"Honestly, I couldn't tell you," Erik replied.

"You're abusing your abilities Claudia!" Charles scolded.

"And you would know all about abusing something wouldn't you?" I asked sarcastically. "I'll be damned before I let a _junkie_ chide me about what's wrong and what's right," I sneered.

"That was a low blow Claudia," Charles commented.

"Well it's a good thing you have feelings in your legs so it could hurt," I quipped.

"After everything we just told you, you don't care that you're going to die?" Logan asked, bringing our focus back to the original point.

"It's a natural part of life," I replied, and Logan rolled his eyes at my statement. "And honestly I still don't see how I would help you all. You have Erik and Charles, albeit Charles is sort of useless without his powers. Nonetheless, the two of them should be enough," I guessed, with a slight shrug.

"They weren't!" Logan snapped. "And that's why I was sent here to get your stubborn ass to help us!" he reminded, moving closer to my desk.

"Even if I wanted to help you all, I couldn't," I began, looking at Charles now. "I'm just a _useless _woman, right Charles?" I questioned, leaning forward in my chair.

"Claudia I didn't mean it I-"

"I'm sick of your lovers quarrel!" Logan interjected, now directly in front of my desk. "I'm not asking you to do this for Charles and Erik, or even for myself. I'm asking you to do it for that little girl in the picture you keep staring at," he reasoned, pointing behind him towards the cabinet.

Well, well it seems like he was a lot smarter and observant than I'd first thought him to be. I looked down to my lap, reaching inside myself for tranquillity. I lifted my head up to meet the stares of the men who were waiting with bated breaths.

"You know I have to say, the pressure of saving the world is a feeling I don't miss," I commented, with a sigh.

* * *

_**AN: Well, I promised you a long chapter but I didn't see foresee it being this long, hope you enjoyed it!  
**_


	8. The Plane Ride from Hell

_**AN: I'm back! This chapter would've been posted sooner but my life has been busy lately, and then I heard the news about Kobe and GiGi Bryant which deeply upset me to the point I didn't want to do anything on Sunday.  
**_

* * *

"Peter, thank you very, very much," Charles said, as he shook Peter's hand.

We were standing outside of a plane on the air strip, preparing to depart to France. It was going to be an all night flight if we had any hopes in stopping Raven who would have a large advantage since she had the head start to get there. I had changed out of my bathing suit, and instead I was now dressed in blue, wide flare pants, a polka dot, yellow halter top, and brown sandals. My hair that was previously in an afro was now slicked back into a low puff ponytail.

"Hey, I saw your flight plan in the cockpit. Why are you going to Paris?" Peter questioned.

"Have you ever heard the saying that curiosity killed the cat?" I asked, speaking from next to Charles' side.

"Um...yes?" Peter answered unsurely.

"Would you like to test that theory?" I asked again, and Peter vehemently shook his head. "Good. Just know that we have business there," I simply explained, flashing him a smile.

"Do me a favor and return it for me," Charles called, as he started to walk up the stairs, tossing Peter the keys to the car.

"Okay," Peter nodded.

"And, Peter? Take it slow," Charles said pointedly, making Peter chuckle.

"Well, it was nice meeting you," I said, sticking my hand out and Peter took it.

"You have a really awesome home," he complimented, shaking my head.

"Yes, I do," I agreed, nodding with a small smile and placing my free hand on top of his. "And let me tell you, if I see anything missing from my home..." I trailed off. "I know where you live," I informed in a whisper, still smiling. I leaned down and gave him a good bye peck on the cheek. "Safe travels," I wished, letting out a chuckle at Peter's ashen face, as I walked up the stairs to the plane.

Charles lingered at the top and gave me a small smile as I passed. My previous amusement disappeared from my face, which fell into a cool expression as I breezed past him. I looked over to Hank who was setting up in the cockpit and he sent me a nod and mouthed 'thank you' to me before I took a seat. I seated myself across the aisle from Logan while Charles sat on the same side, but next to the sofa that Erik was sitting on.

Soon the plane was in the air and it was filled by an awkward silence.

You could cut the tension with a knife. The guilt, blame, questions, and overall emotions were complex. I knew Logan was having a hard time keeping up with everything that was transpiring in this confined space and why the three of us, who used to be as close as you could be, all seem to resent each other or have mixed feelings towards one another.

But me, I didn't pay any attention to it, as I was looking out the window at the blue sky and white, fluffy clouds. It was a beautiful and serene view.

"Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away," I sung lowly, my lips barely moving. Suddenly, I felt a cold hand rest on my shoulder and I whipped my head away from the window to see who it was. "Erik," I breathed, lifting my head slightly in order to meet his eyes.

"Somethings never change," he told me with a smile, in regards to my singing.

I let out a chuckle, "Where else would you hear such lovely singing," I quipped, as Erik handed me a glass of water which I took gratefully. "Thank you Erik, you're such a _darling_," I stated, momentarily covering his hand with my own.

I glanced at Charles only to see him looking at us, a hard expression on his face, but in my ex-fiance's eyes I could see only two things...anger and pain. Erik moved back towards his seat and looked across the table at his old friend.

"How did you lose them?" Erik asked curiously.

"The treatment for my spine affects my DNA," Charles replied coldly, the already dark bags under his eyes seemed shift to a harsher red as he answered.

Erik scrunched his eyebrows together, "You sacrificed your powers so you could walk?!" He asked in disbelief.

Charles' eyes flickered with an immense amount of pain and sadness, "I sacrificed my powers so I could sleep," Charles corrected, his voice breaking at the end. He looked over at me for a brief moment, noticing that I was listening. I raised my eyebrow at him and interlocked my fingers together. He shook his head as if clearing his thoughts. "What do you know about it?" Charles questioned angrily.

"I've lost my fair share," Erik argued.

"Dry your eyes, Erik," Charles laughed coldly at the remark. Logan and I glanced at each other. The mocking attitude, that Charles had was starting to turn into more anger. "It doesn't justify what you've done," Charles rebuked bitterly.

Erik frowned at this, "You have no idea what I've done," Erik growled lowly, shaking his head.

"I know you took the things that meant the most to me," Charles seethed. "Whether it was directly or not," His eyes darted my way again. I was the indirect thing that Erik took from him. Erik took away Charles' legs, and in the years to follow I was soon to follow.

"Well, maybe you should have fought harder for them," Erik retorted in the same coldness.

I felt the rage surge up inside Charles with a force that knocked the breath out of me.

"If you want a fight Erik..." Charles rose from his seat abruptly as did Erik, but Charles stumbled from being slightly intoxicated.

"Sit down," Logan and I interjected, although my tone was more of boredom.

"...I will give you a fight!" Charles finished, ignoring the two of us.

"Let him come," Erik whispered, raising a hand to the two of us.

Charles was at Erik, "You _abandoned_ me!" Charles cried, taking hold of the front of Erik's shirt. I was on my feet now too, standing directly behind Erik just in case this actually came to blows. "You took her away...you caused the events that made Claudia leave me and you abandoned me!" He screamed at the taller man while distinctly looking at me.

I lowered my gaze, a stab of pity slicing my heart at the shattered, damaged, broken man in front of me. Irrationally, I started to feel like this was somehow all my fault, that I was a bad person for leaving. And even though it wasn't fault nor that I should feel guilty, my heart still ached.

"Angel," Erik whispered, and I lifted my eyes back up and frowned as Charles looked confused as well. The plane started to shift. "Azazel. Emma," He continued, staring blankly as the plane began to shake and tremble, but it was not because of turbulence.

"Shit!" I hissed, grabbing onto a headrest for support, but still falling to the floor.

"Banshee,"

_Sean._

My heart pounded at his code name as I stood up, I missed the goofy, redheaded boy quite dearly and I began to wonder where exactly Erik was going with this list.

"Mutant brothers and sisters..." Erik continued, his voice was getting louder. "All dead!" Erik declared, anger laced through it as the jet began to decompress and anything else made of metal.

My blood ran cold and it felt like my heart stopped. Sean was _dead_...and I had no idea.

A beeping alarm went off as plane the tilted, many items sliding to the floor. Erik's anger was effecting the plane's stability. Charles fell back against his seat, gripping the wall of the plane as Erik dipped it to the right, tilting us as things fell from the cupboards, dishes and other things sliding on the ground and towards the cockpit.

"Countless others experimented on, butchered!" Erik growled, continuing his magnetic fury.

"Erik, please!" I shouted, as I looked out the window and noticed that we were nose-diving. I had to hold onto the arm rest so I didn't crash to the other side of the plane. "Erik!" I yelled again.

"Erik!" Hank called worriedly over the noise, as the beeping grew louder, the altitude dropping.

But Erik wasn't listening to anything or anyone as he unleashed his fury.

"Where were _you_, Charles?! We were supposed to _protect_ them! Where were you when your own people needed you?! Hiding! You and Hank! Pretending to be something you're not!" Erik snarled, seemingly unfazed as the plane shook and the many metal objects flew around the floor.

"Erik!" Hank cried urgently, as the plane was treacherously close to crashing into the ocean.

I quickly grabbed Erik's arm, looking up at him, "Erik, please..._calm down_..." I begged with pleading eyes, my fingertips tingling with my mutation.

Within a split second, Erik came to, and the jet began to regain it's balance as Hank was able to once again take control of the plane. I let out a shaky breath I hadn't realized I was holding. Erik looked down at me over his shoulder, his eyes darkening at what I'd done.

He then ripped his arm out of my grip, "_You _abandoned us _all_," Erik finished, facing Charles again. "Even _your _own _fiancee_," he added.

I looked over at Charles who stared right back at me, "Charles..." I called softly, but he ignored me.

Panting, Charles stood up, glaring at Erik before he stormed off to the cockpit with Hank and slammed the door behind him.

"Brilliant," I stated, shaking my head. "Just brilliant, the two of you acting like children," I commented, placing my hands on my hips.

Erik chuckled and spun to face me, "I'm sorry Claudia, are _genuine _emotions an inconvenience to you?" Erik questioned, arching his perfect brow. "It must be _so_ hard for you right now to be outside the utopian bubble you created for yourself," Erik stated mockingly. "Where everything was sculpted to your desire," he added.

I flexed my hands into fists at my sides, taking in a deep breath when I felt my body begin to feel hot.

"You don't know what you're talking about," I said lowly, clenching my fists.

"You know, I wonder if Jean and Anna genuinely loved you? Or if you just made them because you were bored and lonely?"

I raised my hand in fury and slapped Erik hard across the cheek, the sound echoing throughout the cabin. Erik slowly turned his head to face me again, massaging his reddened cheek in the process.

"I would _never_ do that and you know it!" I whispered hotly, my brown eyes staring at his in fury. "Jean and Anna brought joy back into my life! You will never know what I was put through while you were locked up," I hissed, jabbing my finger into his chest. "And you off all people should be the last person to judge about how I use my powers," I chuckled, shaking my head in disbelief. "You _murdered_ the goddamn president with yours," I scoffed, before I walked to the back of the plane.

Just as I entered the small bathroom I nearly closed the door until I heard Logan's voice, so instead I kept the door slightly cracked to watch the interaction.

"So," Logan began, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "You were always an asshole," Logan commented, almost amused.

"I take it we're best buddies in the future," Erik stated as he slowly turned to face him.

Logan chuckled, "I spent a lot of years trying to bring you down, bub," Logan said, a lighter in his hand and a cigar that he was lighting in the other.

"How does that work out for you?"

"You're like me. You're a survivor," Logan answered simply. He took a long drag from his cigar and gestured subtly to the interior of the plane. "Do you wanna pick all that shit up?" Logan asked, looking down at the mess of glass on the floor.

And with that I closed the door to the small bathroom where was able to have a few moments of privacy, to allow my tears to flow.

* * *

_**AN: RIP Kobe & GiGi Bryant.  
**_


	9. Nighttime & Morning Chats

_**AN: School has been kicking my ass lately, sorry for the long wait guys.  
**_

* * *

As day turned to night, darkness had swept throughout the sky and no one really felt like sleeping. But I'd be damned if I didn't try.

I had moved to a table at the front of the plane in the aisle opposite of Charles who was sitting on his own. Logan remained in the back and was reading and drinking of course. I sat silently in the window seat with my head leaned against the wall, my eyes were closed as my mind was full and busy. My arms were folded against my chest to preserve the little warmth I had.

Suddenly, I felt a soft material gently cover my body, it was a blanket and it instantly made me feel better. Familiar hands grazed my arms as they tucked the blanket around me, an unintentional smile reached my lips from Charles' gesture. A breathless laugh left Charles' lips at my reaction, his finger softly stroking my cheek up and down.

_"There's the Charles I fell in love with," I thought._

Abruptly, I felt Charles snatch his finger away from my face and a tinge of sadness hit me from Charles, he must've of remembered the state of our broken relationship. I felt Charles' gaze linger on me before I heard him shuffle back over to his seat, opening my eyes I watched Charles through the reflection of the window. Erik walked over to him and placed down a chessboard with the white and black figures already set in their respective positions.

"Fancy a game? It's been awhile," Erik said to him.

My lips quirked up slightly at what Erik was doing, it was a peace offering from what happened earlier.

_"Kudos to you Erik," I thought._

"I'm not in the mood for games, thank you," Charles sipped from his glass of whiskey, turning his head away from his friend to stare outside the window.

Erik reached over and picked up his own glass and poured himself some of the dark amber liquid.

"I haven't had a real sip in ten years," Erik stated, perching himself on my table as he took a swig of the alcohol. His eyes closed as he savored the expensive drink. He placed it down looking at Charles. "I didn't kill the president," Erik said, and it took everything in me not let out a gasp.

"The bullet curved, Erik," Charles argued.

"Because I was trying to save him," Erik said, defending himself. "They took me out before I could," he explained. "I would say ask our resident human lie detector if I'm lying, but she's sound asleep," Erik commented, looking over his shoulder at me as I simultaneously closed my eyes.

"Why would you try and save him?"

"Because he was one of us," Erik answered, turning back to face Charles and I reopened my eyes.

Charles' face softened, letting out a scoff as he stared at him in shock, "You must think me so foolish," Charles murmured. "We've always said they would come after us," he added, shaking his head.

"I never imagined they'd use Raven's DNA to do it," Erik admitted, looking down to the floor, ashamed.

The two of them were angry at each other, I could feel it. But they were talking so softly you would have never guessed it.

"When did you last see her?" Charles asked curiously.

Erik clicked his tongue and rose from the table to sit in the seat across from Charles, "The day I left Dallas," he answered.

"And how was she?"

"Strong. Driven. Loyal..." Erik starts to say a list of adjectives.

"How...How _was_ she?" Charles repeated closing his eyes.

"She was... We were-" Erik couldn't find the words to say the right thing. "I could see why she meant so much to you. You should be proud of her, Charles," He commented with a smile. "She's out there fighting for our cause,"

"_Your_ cause," Charles corrected. "The girl I raised, she was not capable of killing," he reminded.

"You didn't raise her, you grew up with her. She couldn't stay a little girl forever, that's why she left,"

"She left because you got inside her head," Charles said slowly, leaning forward over the table.

Erik smiled slightly, then shook his head, "That's not _my_ power," Erik quipped, defending his position while looking at Charles. "She made a choice," he added.

Charles nodded and stared back at him, he knew Erik said the truth and for once Erik was right and there was no disagreeing with that.

"But now we know where that choice leads, don't we? She's going to murder Trask, they're going to capture her, and then they're going to wipe us out," Charles said, almost in a whisper.

"Not if we get to her first. Not if we change history tomorrow," Erik paused, looking into his old friend's eyes. "I'm sorry, Charles," Erik finally admitted, his voice taking a much more gentle tone. "For what happened. I truly am,"

I knew Erik wasn't talking about Cuba, I could feel it very clearly that he had no remorse for what had happened with Shaw or turning the missiles on the humans. The only exception to his remorselessness was curving the bullet into Charles's spine. Charles closed his eyes and sat back in his seat, pursing his lips together and shaking his head. He clearly didn't receive the apology as well as I thought he would before downed the rest of the alcohol in his glass.

"It's been awhile since I've played," Charles started, clearing his throat.

"I'll go easy on you," Erik teased before he picked up his own drink. "Might finally be a fair fight," He took a drink and Charles almost smiled, but it was gone just as fast as it came.

"You have the first move,"

Erik looked down and moved the first piece with his magnetism and looked up at his old friend for his move. A few minutes passed in comfortable silence and I started to feel my eyes finally become heavy.

"It's amazing isn't it? A decade has passed, and she still looks the same," Erik stated, causing my eyes to snap open. "Seeing Claudia yesterday, I almost thought I went back in time," Erik laughed lightly.

"Well Claudia may look the same, but she's different now," Charles pointed out. "She is harsher, more closed off," Charles commented, as I felt two pairs of eyes on my back.

"Sounds like the Claudia we met in 1962," Erik chuckled, shaking his head. "She's always had a sharp tongue," he reminded, before making his move.

"Yes, but...I don't remember it being so venomous," Charles responded, bringing his eyes back to the game in front of him.

What happened between you and Claudia?" Erik questioned softly, Charles looked at him and shrugged.

"I drove her way, I was quite the miserable person to be around," Charles explained honestly. "I said _terrible_ things to Claudia, I honestly don't know how she stayed as long as she did," Charles added, running a hand through his hair.

Erik looked at him, "I envied you for a long time because of Claudia," Erik confessed. "I was angry that she didn't come with me after _all_ the moments we shared together at the mansion," Erik continued, making Charles flinch slightly, I could tell he didn't really feel comfortable talking about this with Erik. "But she made the right choice in the end, God knows what might've happened to her if she followed me," Erik finished, and took a sip off his drink.

Charles shook his head, "I just don't understand how Claudia forgave you so easily," Charles said, knitting his brows together.

Erik laughed breathlessly, "The stinging smack she gave me earlier would say otherwise," he stated, placing his glass down. "Can't say that I didn't deserve it though," Erik shrugged. "I don't think Claudia has forgiven me," Erik disagreed, now shaking his head as well. "But Charles, I'm also not the man who broke her heart," he pointed out.

~~~x~~~

My eyes fluttered opened from a surprisingly good night's rest, looking out the airplane window I noticed it was still dark. It must of been early the morning. I shifted myself in my seat, stretching my arms to the side as I did so before rising my feet. Carefully, I grabbed my suitcase from the overhead compartment and placed it on the table, grabbing everything that I needed before sliding it back into the cupboard. I walked to the small bathroom with a fresh set of clothes on my arm and quietly closed the door behind me.

I slipped on my tan wide flare pants and red sleeveless top before focusing on my hair. Turning on the sink faucet, I wet my hair and combed it back to a low bun. I leave from the bathroom and make my way back to my seat and began setting up my makeshift vanity area. With everything neatly laid out in front of me, I reached my hand out and plucked my eye shadow palette and brush from the table and began my work.

The low of the plane engine was the only thing that could be heard throughout the cabin as I gently moved the brush over my eyelids. Once I was done I picked up a cotton ball and dabbed a bit of makeup remover on the cotton before carefully applying it to my face to remove the excess eye shadow. As I concentrated on my task I suddenly felt a presence near me, but unless they were going to say something I was going to keep working on my makeup.

"I know you weren't asleep last night," Erik stated, as I unscrewed the cap to my mascara.

Momentarily, I didn't speak as I curled my eyelashes carefully, creating the perfect shape I was looking for.

"I don't have the faintest idea of what you're talking about," I replied, not looking up at him, my gaze intent on the small portable mirror in front of me.

My brown eyes were highlighted by the charcoal grey eye shadow I just put on, bringing out the warmth in my irises.

"Don't play dumb Claudia, it doesn't suit you," Erik commented.

Realizing that Erik wasn't budging from his spot next to me, I looked away from my reflection, my eyes glancing up at him to see that he was looming over me like a tower.

"You're right," I agreed, shrugging my shoulders. "I was awake last night," I admitted. "You've caught me," I said sarcastically, raising my hand in mock surrender.

I turned my head back to my mirror and grabbed my eyeliner, lifting it to begin tracing the edges of my eye.

Erik shook his head, "Is that all you're going to say?" Erik questioned, taking a seat across from me.

I paused in my movement, "What did you want me to say?" I asked back, in utter confusion. "Did you want me to play cat and mouse?" I questioned, letting out a chuckle as I drew the eyeliner pencil across my eyelid, carefully forming a sharp point at the corner of my eye.

"That's what you usually do isn't it? Erik questioned, with a wry grin.

Ignoring him, I picked up my lipstick to the right of me and pulled the cap off before twisting the bottom of it to push the stick up higher. I looked back into the mirror and started carefully applying the nude lipstick

"Erik, what do you want?" I asked bluntly, before rubbing my lips together.

"I want to apologize," Erik answered, and I paused in my movements. "For yesterday," he added. "You're right, I don't know what you went through," he conceded, his eyes shining with sincerity.

I looked to the man in front of me, "Erik Lehnsherr apologizing?" I questioned, lifting my eyebrow. "Why a lightning bolt might strike us down right now," I joked, packing away my makeup kit and brushes. A pulse of slight irritation struck me, causing me to stop what I was doing. "Apology accepted Erik," I stated, looking at him and continuing what I was doing. "Now was that all you wanted to talk about?" I questioned, inspecting one of my brushes.

"Can I not just speak to an old friend?" Erik asked, slightly tilting his head.

A light laugh erupted from me, "It's been a _decade_ since we last seen or spoken to each other and you still call me a friend? " I stated, propping my elbows up on the table and resting my head on top of my hands.

"We can hardly call ourselves strangers. You and I, we know to much about each other," Erik quipped, a smile tugging on his lips.

I breathed out a chuckle, "Alright, so speak," I instructed, jutting my chin out.

"Seeing you yesterday...it made me think about our time together at the mansion," Erik began, a faint smile on his lips. "And it reminded me what bothered me the most about you," Erik stated.

"That I was a smartass?" I guessed, raising a brow.

"You still are," Erik pointed out, and I grinned. "It was that you were scared of what you are capable of," he recalled, shaking his head. "And here we are a decade later and you are in complete control of your abilities, and unafraid to use them to their fullest extent," Erik observed.

My smile slightly vanished and I looked over my shoulder to see Charles' sleeping form, thinking back to what he said yesterday.

I returned my gaze toward Erik, "Much to Charles' displeasure," I commented, slightly chuckling.

"After you left Charles, where did you go? What did you do?" Erik asked. "If you don't mind me asking?" he added.

"To be honest, I was slightly lost after I left him," I admitted, lifting my head off my hands so I could rub my arms. "Charles, he was supposed to be different than the men I had known," I sighed, closing my eyes briefly. "I _poured_ my heart into that relationship, just for it to end like all my past relationships," I stated, a humorless chuckle escaping my lips.

Erik stared at me with something akin to pity, "Claudia I'm-" Erik started.

Lazily, I waved my hand, "Please, don't pity me, Erik," I stated, shaking my head. "When I left Charles...I don't know something...something just snapped within me and I stopped caring," I explained, my eyes moving downward to the table. "I remember how Charles would always stress on how I should use my abilities responsibly, but to hell with him," I continued, glancing up at Erik again. "The world has never been kind to me, I didn't owe them anything," I said, slightly shrugging my shoulders.

"So, what did you do?"

"I traveled the world like I always wanted to do," I answered, a smile forming as I thought back to those days. "Each country I visited I had a new identity, a new look. I had all sorts of fun with my abilities in Europe now that I was uninhibited, it was even better when I met fellow mutants who liked causing mischief," I laughed softly, remembering when I was in Barcelona with a group of mutants and I convinced some rich man to take us on a night out in the city to the most expensive places, of course it was on his dime.

"I'm assuming you enjoyed yourself?" Erik questioned, with a knowing look.

I reached both of my hands out for Erik to take. He glanced down at them before looking up back at me and I gave him a nod. Softly, he placed his hands in mine and I looked at him.

"Erik," I began, an airy laugh escaping me. "I'd never felt freer in my life," I confessed, smiling brightly. "It was _everything_ you wanted for me, to not limit myself. I have learned so much more about my abilities," I stated, still smiling.

"You finally decided to listen to my advice?" Erik asked, grinning himself.

"I'll admit, there were some wisdom to your words," I chuckled, nodding my head. "It just took some time for me to see it," I added, slightly shrugging.

"I truly just wanted the best for you Claudia," Erik said softly, squeezing my hand gently.

"I know, I see that now," I replied, nodding my head understandingly. "But you have to realize that I was going to be wary, I've heard the same sentiment before," I reminded.

"I know," Erik repeated gently.

A long silence fell over us and once again the only sound that could be heard was the rumbling of the engine. I slipped my hands from Erik's, my lips quirking up into a quick smile.

"Well enough about me, what about you Erik?" I asked, placing my hands in my lap.

Erik arched his brow, "I've been locked up," Erik answered flatly.

"Okay, before that then," I clarified, rolling my eyes.

"Where do I begin?" Erik asked, rubbing his neck.

I lifted my arm up and reached over the table, to softly stroke Erik's dark brown hair, "How about your hair?" I joked, leaning back in my seat. "I liked it longer," I commented, and Erik let out a snort, dropping his head in laughter.

_"Oh, how I missed this old friend,"_

* * *

_**AN: I thought about skipping straight to Paris after the chess match, but I thought Claudia and Erik should have a bonding moment just like Charles did.**_


	10. Pandemonium in Paris

_**AN: Don't know why but I struggled to write the ending of this chapter.**_

* * *

Tying a headscarf around my head as if I was a 50's starlet, I found myself stepping out of the jet only few hours later after my long conversation with Erik. I breathed in deeply, looking around at my surroundings. Here I was, in France, the same country that I had lived in two years prior. The faces of Jean and and Anna popped into my mind and I momentarily had to stop as I felt a knot form in my stomach. When the time came for me to fly back to America, Jean and Anna were so sad. Especially, Jean, his sadness went deeper than me just leaving to go home. A feeling of loneliness washed over me, remembering the family that took me in as if I belonged there in the first place.

"You alright?"

I turned to look up at Logan who surprisingly seemed concern, "Yeah, just thinking back. That's all," I answered, nodding my head. "We should get going," I suggested, sliding my sunglasses onto my face.

I quickly moved away from Logan and headed in the direction of Hank, Charles, and Erik. I didn't feel like taking a trip down memory lane even further so I cut the conversation off quickly, thoughts of what if or what could've been is the last thing I need weighing on my mind right now.

"We need to call a company and request a rental car to get to the hotel," Hank stated, as I approached them. "My only concern is the language barrier. They might not understand us or vice versa," Hank explained, sliding his hands into his pant pockets.

I smiled and slightly raised my hand, "Have no fear Hank," I spoke up, and the three men turned their attention to me. "We'll be out of here in a jiffy," I promised, before walking towards a nearby payphone.

Digging into my pocket, my fingers grazed over the francs I took from my home. I grabbed a franc that I had originally saved as a souvenir of my time here, but now unfortunately had to be used. I turned towards the phone and inserted a coin.

"Bonjour, opérateur, pourriez-vous me connecter avec une location de voiture?"

As I waited for an answer, I looked over at the men behind me with a grin on my face, happy to show off a skill I learned over the years. Erik, Logan, Hank, and even Charles looked fairly impressed. Finally, I was connected to the rental shop when I heard a deep, male voice begin speaking French into the phone.

"Bonjour. Je vous ai entendu louer des voitures," I began, and looked back over the group men. **"Vous n'arriveriez pas à avoir des voitures noires qui en détiennent cinq, n'est-ce pas?"** I asked curiously, a smirk growing on my face.

~~~x~~~

Paris was just as beautiful as the first time I stepped foot in it, I wanted to explore The City of Lights all over again, the only thing I needed was a Super 8mm camera and the song _Sous Le Ciel De Paris _playing in the background and I would be set. But, unfortunately there was no time for such dreams. We had to stop Raven from killing Trask, an event that would doom us all if she succeeded.

Once we found the nearest place to rent a car I _asked _oh so kindly for the man to let me borrow the car free of charge, much to Charles' annoyance. After acquiring our car we began our journey to the Hotel Royal. As we drove around the Parisian streets there were some many sights to see, people were celebrating everywhere, hearing the news that the Vietnam war was over. I would've loved to join in on the celebration if I wasn't preoccupied. We continued making our way towards the hotel where the meeting was being taken place, spotting journalists and cameras flashing everywhere as we went.

"So, what exactly is the plan?" I asked, looking at Erik who was sitting in the passenger seat in front of me.

"Well, to be honest. I think its self-explanatory," Hank shrugged, from beside me and I rose an eyebrow.

"You mean just breaking in and pretty much saving her?" Logan questioned, glancing at him through the rear view window.

"You make it sound so simple," I said sarcastically.

"I think we should skip the planning, there isn't time for that." Erik piped up, seeing that we were approaching our destination.

"Alright everyone, shut up and let me do the talking," I ordered, preparing to use my language skills again.

Logan drove the car up to the Parisian building where they're signing the Peace Accords, stopping at the gate where there was a checkpoint. I got out of the car walking in direction of the security guards.

"Excuse moi," I called, moving closer to them. "Pouvez-vous nous aider?" I asked, clasping my hands together. "Mes amis et moi sommes perdus," I explained, letting out a chuckle as I lightly tapped my forehead.

"Madame vous ne pouvez pas-" one of the guards started, before I outstretched my hand and sent the guards flying against the concrete wall.

With a simple flick of the wrist, I lifted the gate to the jail-like entrance. Logan drove the car further in as I hopped into the moving car.

"You're always one for dramatic flair Claudia," Erik commented, as I took my shades off.

I turned to look at him, "Toujours," I repeated in French with a smile, as I shrugged my shoulders.

Erik rolled his eyes and shook his head as Logan parked the car next to a door which leads to the halls. We entered a highly decorated hall and walk quickly

I closed my eyes and began to guide us, getting in the head of different Generals. Out of nowhere, a sharp pain cut into my psyche. I groaned and double over, palms of my hands pressing to my temples as a flood of pain overwhelmed me. _Angel_, dead and cut open, one wing cut off. _Sean_, throat slit open and vocal cords hanging out. _Azazel_, tail chopped off and body cut open. Two hands immediately latched themselves onto my back, looking up I saw Charles on my left and Erik on my right, both men glancing at me with worry.

"She's here," I informed, and they nodded before helping me stand back up.

"Up here," Logan called, who seemed to know where he was going.

He lead us up the stairs and down a long, velvet carpeted hallway and as we approached the conference room, there were shouts of alarm from inside. Logan and I exchanged glances just as Vietnamese delegates suddenly rushed out the room and down the corridor, paying us no attention. All of us ran into the room, pushing the large doors out of the way, and we walked into a chaotic mess. Men in uniform were on the floor, crouched in pain, and Raven sat perched on the table in her natural blue state aiming a gun right at a small man's forehead. It slightly broke my heart to see her like this, so full of hate and pain.

Raven!" Charles called, distracting her for just a second to look our way as we entered.

In a split second, threads of silver were shot at her and she convulsed, falling to the table's surface, thanks to the lieutenant on the floor with his taser.

"Raven? Raven!" Charles cried in worry as he rushed to her side.

Charles and I went to her side, he held her head as I grabbed onto her arm. She was one of the few female friends I had ever had, and I could never stop caring about her well-being.

She was still convulsing when Erik yanked the threads from her and sent it flying into and into the man's neck who had fired them at her in the first place.

"Raven?" Charles repeated gently stroking his sister's hair, she was still slightly thrashing still feeling the aftershocks of the taser.

"Claudia?" Raven looked up at me, then to Charles. "Charles?" She breathed at the sight of us, staring in disbelief.

"Surprise!" I cheered breathlessly, slightly throwing my hands up.

"We've come for you, Claudia, Erik, and I..." Charles explained. "Together." He added in a whisper.

"I never thought I'd see you again," Raven whispered, looking at us both.

"I made you a promise a long time ago that I would protect you," Charles reminded her. "I'm going to keep you safe. I'm going to keep you out of their hands," he promised her.

A sudden rush of anger struck me, making me recoil from the mental onslaught. I glanced back my eyes stopping at Logan, frowning as Charles continued comforting Raven. Logan was taking heavy breaths, rapidly trying to grasp at the air around him. Anger turned into confusion which then slowly turned into shock and that into _fear_.

Something was wrong with Logan.

"Logan?" I called. "You alright there buddy?" I asked, just as I felt something slide pass me. Looking down I noticed it was the handgun Raven had been holding. "What the hell?" I murmured.

"Erik..." Raven called, her voice trembling.

I turned around to see Erik with the gun in his hand, he had made it move into his own hand and was now pointing it at Raven.

"Erik? What are you doing?" Charles asked extending his hand, fearing what he is capable of doing.

"Securing our future," He answered coldly, loading the gun.

"Erik don't!" I warned him. "This is _murder_!" I argued, but Erik barely spared me a glance.

"Forgive me, Mystique. As long as you're out there, we'll never be safe," Erik stated a serious expression, Raven looked utterly terrified, looking from Charles, to Erik, then me.

"Erik," Hank warned.

"Use your power, Charles!" Raven ordered nervously, as that would be the easiest course of action."Stop him!" she begged, as Charles let out a shaky breath.

He tried to say something, but was at a loss for words.

"He can't," Erik informed her ominously.

Raven shot up, making a run for the window on the far side of the room and leaping off the end to jump out of the window

_"Well I can," I thought._

I lifted up a glowing hand and aimed it at him, ready to stop him. I stretched my hand out only for Erik to do the same and thrust his free hand out. My breath involuntarily caught in my throat as I found it hard to suddenly breathe, and Erik took this opportunity to fire his shot, not even fazed by Hank tackling him. The sound of glass shattering echoed throughout the room as Raven broke through the window and I could see the bullet following her. Screams could be heard from the street below us and I got a sensation of burning pain.

Raven had been hit.

I attempted to clear my throat to clear my airways, but couldn't. The crushing pressure around my neck persisted now pressing down on my jugular. I looked down to see my necklace cutting into my skin, leaving welts, nearly breaking. I struggled to breathe, attempting to pry the chain from my throat with my hands.

"Erik, stop!"

And I fell to the tiled floor, gasping and choking, as a thin line of blood began to trickle down my chest. A coughing fit wracked my body as I lifted my head up from the floor to witness Erik and Hank fighting, but Erik quickly managed to defeat Hank. Then he moved onto fighting Charles, a battle that I knew Charles was surely going to lose. Still feeling lightheaded from almost being choked out I managed to lift my hand up and release a bolt of energy at Erik which grazed his arm.

Erik knocked Charles to the floor and then whipped his body around in my direction. He used the metal chain of my necklace to fling me into the wall behind me. My head bounced off of the stone, causing my skull to throb in pain. I groaned and clutched my head as my vision went blurry. I was disoriented, I couldn't see, and I couldn't hear.

My hand weakly made its way to the back of my head and where I felt a slight dampness in my hair. Bringing my hand back towards my eyes, it was coated in red. I dropped my hand to the floor, feeling the corners of my eyes begin to darken. Out of nowhere, I felt a hand on my back and I could barely make out someone saying my name.

"Claudia? Claudia, can you hear me? Claudia, come on. Are you okay?"

A grunt escaped from me as I attempted to roll onto my side. I blinked a few times before my vision was restored and I saw Charles kneeling beside me. Concern pressed deeply into his features.

"Mmm. Help me up," I breathed.

He took my hands in his and he was able to haul me back into a standing position. The only problem was that the world began tipping and I felt as if I was going to topple over and fall back down again. I grabbed onto Charles' jacket and he caught me, holding me to him. I kept my face buried in his chest while I tried to regain my senses.

"Just breathe. You'll be fine," he cooed. "You're gonna be all right, just breathe," he repeated, soothingly rubbing my back.

I nodded and pulled myself away, "Thank you," I whispered, staring into his eyes.

It was at this moment I noticed our proximity, it's the closest we've ever been to each other since we've been reunited.

"I should've done something sooner," I breathed, shaking my head. "I should've known Erik-" I continued.

"It's okay Claudia," Charles reassured, cutting me off.

"Where am I?" Logan questioned, causing Charles and I look at the man in confusion.

"Huh?" Charles said confused.

Then I noticed the lost look on the taller man's face as pushed himself off of the floor and looked at us.

"How the hell did I get here?" he asked again, staring at us with wild eyes

I furrowed my eyebrows, "Charles...something's not right," I stated, shaking my head.

"What? You came to us," Charles corrected, still confused.

Logan looked at the room in confusion and fear, before suddenly grabbing Charles roughly by his jacket.

"Who are you?" Logan asked, practically shouting as he eyed him up and down.

"Charles," Charles answered, and Logan grabbed the lapels of his jacket, lifting him from the ground slightly. With wide eyes Charles placed his hands against Logan. "Charles Xavier!" He exclaimed, still being eyed suspiciously by Logan.

"Hey!" I yelled. "Put him down!" I demanded, eyeing Logan's claws.

"I don't know you!" Logan exclaimed loudly, as he narrowed his eyes at Charles again.

"What?" Charles said, still very confused.

Jesus Christ, this whole moment was getting crazier by the second.

I looked over my shoulder when I heard shuffling and saw a sight I hadn't seen in awhile. Hank was up on his feet, but now in all his blue furred glory. Full beast. Hank must have lost control after his altercation with Erik.

Logan's eyes widened, "What the hell is that?!" He exclaimed stepping back, scared of him.

Hank growled at Logan and Charles turned to look at Hank, "Whoa. Whoa," held his hands up between the two men to calm them down. "Look, I can deal with this. Just go. Stop Erik!" Charles ordered, snapping his attention back to Logan.

Hank roared before sprinting across the room, jumping out the window Raven and Erik had gone through.

Charles turned to face me, "Go with him," he ordered softly.

"What? No!" I replied, snapping my head to look at him. "Are you crazy? He's not in his right mind, he could easily kill you!" I whispered harshly

"All the more reason you should go," Charles countered. "I'll be fine, I promise," he reassured.

I began to back away from him, "You always make promises that you can't keep Charles," I stated, before running to the paneless window myself.

I leaped out of the window and made force field platforms as steps down. Outside of the building was chaos. People everywhere were screaming or filming with their cameras. Erik was being pummeled by the Hank, and Raven seemed to have disappeared. I tried to push through the crowds and watched Hank push Erik down into the large fountain.

That's when I started to see tints of red in the water, and I put my hand over my mouth. It seemed that Hank was winning the battle, when all of a sudden, the large metal bars from the fountain bent and latched onto Hank. There were also metal objects being thrown around, causing the civilians to panic more. Maneuvering myself around, I was able to get to the front of the crowd as Hank was being slowly pulled up by the metal ornaments.

He roared with anger. Erik stood up out of the water, drenched, and stared at me from my place in the crowd. It seemed as if time stood still, my brown eyes bore into his blue ones. I shook my head, pressing my lips together. Frowning, I sent forth an echo of the emotion that Erik drew out from me by his actions.

_"How you disappoint me Erik Lehnsherr," _

I watched his face fall as he walked away, continuing on his quest to look for Raven. And just like that, the shared moment that Erik and I had shattered as everything came back in full focus. I could hear the sound of numerous cameras clicking as they all took pictures of him Hank. His eyes found mine as he looked down in pain and shame.

"I got you," I mouthed.

Concentrating, the wind around me began to pick up unnaturally strong. Everyone looked around in confusion, something was happening. And that something was _me. _In reality, nothing was happening, the wind was a light breeze, but the illusion I created made it feel like tornado type winds. I glanced around at the crowd as they struggled to stay on their feet, which was beginning to become even more difficult due to the winds. Shouts of terrors rang out as people fell to the ground or were stumbling to get to their feet, trying to dodge invisible debris flying their way.

With the crowd distracted, I ran toward Hank with ease and I slightly raised my hand causing the cameras closest to me float in the air as more screams erupted from the crowd. I flipped my hand down and the cameras in my possession mimicked my movement, crashing into the pavement. There was an array of empty police cars in the corner of my eye, spreading my fingers out one by one the cars turned into a fiery blaze while setting off a thunderous explosion as I reached Hank.

_"Good enough distraction I hope," I thought._

With that I ended my illusion and all the photographers and filmers had scattered, the crowd followed suit also running away frightened and no longer paying attention to us. I turned my attention to Hank, flicking my wrist the bars unwrapped themselves from Hank's body and he dropped to the ground.

"It's probably best we get out of here," I said, glancing at the hysterical crowd and he nodded, and the two of us ran off.

* * *

_**AN: I hope you enjoyed it, it felt I was giving myself gray hairs trying to write this thing.  
**_

_**Translations:**_

_**Bonjour, opérateur, pourriez-vous me connecter avec une location de voiture? - ****Hello operator, could you connect me with a car rental.**_

_**Bonjour. Je vous ai entendu louer des voitures. -** **Hello. I heard you rent cars.**_

_**Vous n'arriveriez pas à avoir des voitures noires qui en détiennent cinq, n'est-ce pas? - You wouldn't happen to have black cars that hold five would you?**_

_**Pouvez-vous nous aider - Can you help us?**_

_**Mes amis et moi sommes perdus - My friends and I are lost**_

_**Madame vous ne pouvez pas - Madame you can't **_

_**Toujours - Always**_


	11. Crossroads

_**AN: With more time on my hand I was able to get this chapter posted a lot more quickly than usual. Once again, thanks for the support it means a lot to me!  
**_

* * *

_"We did all of that for nothing,"_

That was my single thought for the flight back to the States while I nursed the dull ache in the back of my head. I wasn't the only one with this sentiment though, no one had spoken since we had left Paris, all of us too disheartened and ashamed. The plane ride had been been one of gloominess, we had isolated ourselves in different parts of the plane. All of us disappointed by how things had gone, but none more so then Logan. I could feel the anger and frustration emanating from him. We had failed.

_He_ had failed.

Once we touched back down in New York, Logan drove us to Charles' mansion. I sat next to him in the passenger seat, staring out the window and watching the landscape pass by. The trees that lined Graymalkin Lane were a lush green from the summer sun. The car slowly crunched down the long gravel driveway and I let out a silent scoff and shook my head, remembering the promise I made to myself to never come back here.

Finally, we reached the front doors and the sound of the car doors slamming close echoed in the acres surrounding the mansion. I took a deep breath, staring at the unkempt mansion that I once called home. A frown formed on my face as I noticed that mansion looked worst than I remembered. Logan walked up next to me as I scanned my eyes around the property.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked curiously.

I glanced at Logan before looking back at the mansion, "It looks shittier than I remember," I answered, before walking away.

When entering the house I hesitated. It had been a long time since I had been here, and my last memories of the place weren't the best. Not with Charles hiding in his room as I carried my suitcases down the stairs. Hank at my heels begging me not to go, telling me that Charles needed me. I hadn't thought that was right at the time, but now as I looked at the even worse state Charles was in, I wondered if maybe, just maybe, Hank had been right.

But despite the painful memories, this place still felt like home.

It was quiet as we walked through the house, but the moment we entered the foyer Charles suddenly collapsed to the floor, crying out in pain. It was just like in Cuba, the same action.

"What happened?" Logan asked running forward. "Why can't he walk?" Logan asked again, with a mixture of concern and confusion, looked from Charles, to me, then to Hank.

Hank hoisted Charles off of the floor, "He needs his treatment," Hank explained, looking at Logan before turning to me.

"Hank, I can hear them," Charles whimpered putting a hand to his head, as Hank leaned him against a pillar.

I won't lie, my heart ached seeing him in so much discomfort and distress. Hank and I glanced at each other again, dropping my head and my closing my eyes I nodded at Hank.

Hank nodded in return, "It's okay, I'll make it stop, I'll get it," Hank said quickly, and ran up the stairs as fast as he could.

Charles let out another groan of pain, hands over his head in a futile attempt to keep his mind silent.

"Hey, hey, pull yourself together," Logan attempted to reassure, while looking Charles up and down, his eyes filled with what could only be described as distaste. "It's not over yet," he assured.

Charles breathed heavily and I saw a look in his eyes that I hadn't seen in years. It was calculating, as if Charles was scanning Logan over carefully. Charles was using his powers once again.

"You don't believe that," Charles said with a bitter laugh as his voice shook.

Logan's eyes seemed to flash in bewilderment, "How do you know?" Logan asked in surprise.

Charles gave him a cynical smile as his hand trembled by his leg, "As these goes," he motioned to his legs before steadily raising his hand and pointing to his head. "This comes back," He then seemed to physically wince as a fresh wave hit him. "They all come back!" he cried out.

"Look, I'm...I'm still here. She's still out there. But we need your help, Charles. Not like this, I need you. We can't find Raven, not without your powers,"

Charles' eyes snapped to him before shrugging off his jacket and started to roll his sleeve up, when he caught me staring at him.

"No comments from you Claudia? You've been strangely quietly," he commented in a clipped tone.

I shrugged and shook my head, "You didn't listen to me in the past and you're not going to listen to me now. So, why waste my breath," I replied tiredly, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You're not exactly helping Claudia," Logan grumbled.

"What's new?" I retorted, rolling my eyes and took a step towards Charles. "You see, I find it rather difficult to help a stranger," I stated, glancing over at Logan. "This isn't Charles. Not the Charles I met in 1962 anyway. Not the Charles I knew. The Charles I knew, wouldn't give up," I said, lowering my mental barrier.

I'm not him anymore,"

I let out a disbelieving snort. "Of course you are, he's in there somewhere. Otherwise you wouldn't have went along with Logan in the first place," I pointed out.

Charles winced again, his hand meeting his head, "Your b-barrier is down," Charles groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. I knew my thoughts were getting louder, more clear to him. "Stop talking. Stop _thinking_!" Charles cried, at the onslaught of my cold, harsh mind.

"No," I replied defiantly. "Because you're clearly not getting it!" I strode forward and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Your Raven, your sister, is in danger of going down a very dark path, that she will never escape and you sit here, more concerned about you're next goddamn hit!" My voice rose, and soon I found myself shouting. "The Charles I knew would never have done this. He would be out there right now, looking for her, trying to bring her home-"

"You left!" Charles suddenly cried, interrupting me. "When you left I didn't know what to do, all I had left of you were memories," He had tears in his eyes as he gazed up at me. "Maybe you were right when you left, maybe I was breaking, but _you _shattered me." He looked at me imploringly, "How could I put the pieces back together when the most important piece wasn't there?!" he questioned, his voice thick with emotion.

I stared into Charles' watery blue eyes as my hands slid down from his shoulders, letting out a deep sigh. I reached down and grabbed his hand and held it softly with both my hands.

"We can't fix the past," I stated, shaking my head and Charles remained silent as he stared at me. "Nor can we take back what we said," I added, letting out a sigh.

Charles let out a bitter chuckle, "What do we do then?" he asked.

I shrugged with a slightly amused smile on my lips, "We move forward and try fix the future," I suggested, with a nod of my head.

Charles chuckled a small smile on his lips, but it turned sad, "I think we're a little too late for that," he murmured.

"Nonsense," I disagreed, shaking my head once again. "There's no time like the present," I pointed out.

Charles looked down at his legs and I didn't need to be a telepath to know what he was thinking. Charles thought he couldn't do much fighting without his legs. Knowing where his mind drifted, I brought his attention back to me.

"Hey," I called, squeezing his hand. "You never needed your legs to be a fighter Charles, you just needed to be _you,_" I encouraged, my tone gentle, probably the gentlest it has been in awhile.

_"I've missed you,"_

I was surprised when I heard the whisper in my head. By the look on his face it hadn't been deliberate. But the gentle caress of his mind on mine was a nice reminder of how things used to be. He smiled at me gently, and in that second I thought that maybe there was hope for the future. And a smile of my own quirked up on my lips, but then the sound of Hank quickly coming down the stairs with the injection for Charles ruined the moment.

"I added a little extra cause you missed a dose," Hank informed, as he hesitantly handed Charles a needle full with the translucent yellow serum.

At the sight of it, my stomach turned. I dropped Charles' hand, backing up at the sight of him getting ready to take the injection. I glared at the needle, wanting nothing more than to destroy it. I just wanted to snatch it from his hand and smash it into a million tiny pieces.

"Charles," Logan called sternly.

"I don't know why I bothered," I commented, folding my arms and looking down at Charles in thinly veiled disgust, but was actually disappointment.

But I don't think Charles noticed, I could tell from how he was hyper-focused on the needle and the yellow liquid inside it. His breathing was shallower and his pupils dilated. He turned the syringe around to face his arm, his eyes watering. He was centimeters away from sticking it into his vein when his blue eyes met mine again after hearing what went through my mind.

_"Please, Charles, don't give me a reason to walk out that door right now,"_

With a sharp inhale of air, Charles pressed his shaking hand against the floor, the syringe between his skin and the wood. I let out a quiet sigh of relief, my mouth twitching into a smile, it was small, but it was there.

Charles looked up at Hank, "Hank do me a favor, would you help me to my study please?" he asked, already starting to sound like his old self.

Hank smiled a little before pulling one of Charles' arms over his shoulder and helping him to the study. The four of us walked to Charles' study as Charles gradually lost the feeling in his legs more and more. Entering the study I went to the closet and opened the door to reveal his wheelchair that he hadn't used in a very long time. Charles stared at it like it was a nightmare.

Hank looked down at him,"Are you sure about this?" Hank asked with concern.

"Absolutely not,"

* * *

_**AN: Hope you enjoyed it!  
**_


	12. A Plea to Come Home

_**AN: I thought about posting this chapter tomorrow, but I thought about it and said ehhh might as well do it today.  
**_

* * *

Charles now sitting in his wheelchair, wheeling himself down towards Cerebro, while three of us followed close behind. I smiled to myself as I remembered how all of this started, it made me feel nostalgic. I remembered finding the first students with Charles and helping them. I missed that.

"When was the last time you were down here?" Logan asked, as he looked around the silver hallways.

"The last time we went looking for students," Hank answered.

"A lifetime ago..." Charles added with a sigh.

He halted, looking into the circle in the center of the vault-like door. Two strips of blue light shined across Charles' hesitant face, moving to form a 'X' shape.

"Welcome, Professor," A female robotic voice echoed through the empty corridor, as the door opened, letting us inside.

"Raven's wounded," Hank reminded us, as we reached the console. "She won't be moving fast," Hank stated, before switching on the machine.

Charles picked up the helmet, gripping it tightly with shaking hands before blowing off the dust to reveal it's shiny exterior.

"These are muscles I haven't stretched in a long time," he remarked, slowly placing the helmet over his shaggy brown hair.

Unconsciously, I placed my hands on the handlebars of Charles' wheelchair just like how I used to. I looked down at my hands realizing where they were, but didn't move them from their spot. Suddenly, the machine turned on filling the room with white and red lights displaying all the minds that Charles was currently touching. I had always found the whole process sort of beautiful, but in this moment it looked rather horrifying and jarring.

Charles sucked in a breath, "God!" he exclaimed.

Charles groaned as the images around us started to turn. There was a lot of noise, screams and cries from the people asking for help echoing in the round room. The different people and voices whisked past us faster and faster. The machinery started to whir uncontrollably.

"Charles!" Hank said, looking frantically at the needles flitterring. I could tell that all the voices were overwhelming him.

Charles groaned again and the lights circled around us at a very fast speed making me dizzy.

"Charles!" repeated Logan.

Out of nowhere, the whole machine broke down. I ducked a bit as some sparks flew near me. The whole room went dark, hyperventilating, Charles pulled Cerebro off of his head immediately.

"I-it's alright," Hank stuttered, looking around. "I'll go check on the generator," He informed, running out of the open door.

"I'll go with him," I said, before jogging away to catch up with him.

I followed Hank into the nearby room, he was fiddling with some wires from the generator.

Hank looked up from what he was doing, "Why did you come with me?" Hank asked, raising a confused brow.

"Feeling all the pain and suffering was a bit much for me," I explained, which wasn't a complete lie.

"Understandable," He nodded.

"I thought the same as well," I remarked, as I fiddled with the buttons checking them.

"It's not true though is it?" Hank asked suddenly.

I stared at him in surprise and was greeted with a kind smile that was often on his lips.

"Come on Claudia, I lived in this house with you for, what? five, six years? I know when you're lying," Hank pointed out, and I shook my head at him a fond smile on my face. It fell quiet between us as we worked on the generator. "It was hard without you being here you know," Hank stated, and I paused in my movements. "And trust me, I understand why you left," Hank continued, pushing up his glasses. "But after all this...do you think you will come back here, with Charles and I?" Hank asked, a hopeful look in his eyes.

I let out a sigh, "I have a lovely home waiting for me when I return from this," I pointed out, plugging in a wire.

"Your house is lovely Claudia, but were you truly happy in it?" Hank questioned, pushing in a metal piece before looking up at me again.

"Generators fine. I've turned the power back on. We should get back," I informed, avoiding Hank's question.

"He...he got worse after you left," Hank admitted quietly. "Claudia—"

My head snapped in his direction, glaring at him, "_Don't _Hank," I gritted out, warning him. "I _see_ what he's been doing to himself," I acknowledged, shaking my head. "And it hurts to see a once proud man now a broken shell of himself," I stated, my voice growing soft.

I flipped a switch, and with a _vroom_, the lights came back on. I closed the door to the generator. We left the room and saw Logan leaning on the arms of Charles' chair, the two of them locked into an intense stare.

"Powers back on," Hank declared, breaking the tense atmosphere.

"Yes it is," Charles agreed, looking at the panel. I got the feeling he was referring to something Logan had said more than Hank. Charles placed the helmet back on his head and plugged himself back in, quick to find Raven. "Raven, stop. Stop running," he called he paused for a few seconds. "Back at the house, where you should be. I need you to come home,"

I found myself at a disadvantage, since I could only here Charles' side of the conversation.

"If you kill Trask, you'll be creating countless more just like him," Based on the face Charles made, I guessed he didn't like Raven's reply. "Those are Erik's words not yours. The girl I grew up with wasn't capable of killing. She was good, fare, and compassionate," Charles reminded firmly.

After a pause, Charles' jaw clenched, "Shut her down Charles, get in her head," Logan ordered.

"She's not letting me in," Charles said with a shake of his head. "I'm barely holding on. I'm not strong enough yet," Charles explained, before he refocused in on Raven.

"I know what Trask has done, but killing him will not bring them back. it will set you on a path from which there is no return," His eyes briefly cast to mine and I slightly widened my eyes in surprise at his choice of words. So similar to my own earlier. "An endless cycle of killing. Us and them till there is nothing left. But we can stop it right now, you and I. You just have to come _home,_" His voice broke slightly at the end, making my heart clench.

The red lights dimmed, showing the break in connection, and Charles closed his eyes. He looked so tired and sad in that moment. He pulled the helmet off, tears in his eyes.

"Where is she?" Logan asked.

Charles chuckled, "She's in an airport, boarding a plane," he replied, rubbing his forehead.

"A plane to where?" Hank inquired

"Washington, D.C."

~~~x~~~

Dropping my suitcase onto wooden the floor with an echoing thud I took in my surroundings. I spun around slowly in my old room to see that nothing was really touched at all, my old fashioned four poster bed was made with the same linen before I left.

_"Charles didn't move anything...it's just as I left it..." I thought._

I walked past the drawers, my fingers running along the surface before I entered the bathroom to see that all of my soaps and materials were restocked. I smiled slightly, knowing that Hank had been the one to do that, it was as if Hank was holding out hope that I might return to the mansion.

But I never did, and my smile disappeared.

Closing the my bedroom door, I picked up my suitcase and placed it on the ottoman in front of my bed before opening it with a flick of my fingers. I kicked my shoes off and began to undress myself to take a much needed shower after today's events. Reentering the bathroom, I quickly stepped into the shower and turned the knob to hot. The hot water felt like heaven and my aching muscles started to relax. As I let the water run over me I noticed red has began running from my hair, with so much that has happened I almost forgot that Erik threw me into a wall.

I raised my hand to touch the back of my head and winced immediately when I felt the tender area. Carefully, I shampooed my hair two times to completely rinse any left over dried blood. Once I was out and changed into clean clothes I sat down on my my old bed, brushing my wet hair. When I went to run the brush through my hair again I stopped as my eyes fell on a photograph on my nightstand that was taken back in 1962.

It was a picture of _us, _the first class of X-Men. It stung. I missed them. All of them. Sean, Alex, hell, even Moira. I stretched out and grabbed the frame, my fingers pressing against it then resting by Erik's face. I was in between him and Charles. All of us were all smiling except for Erik. I shut my eyes slightly, reopening them to see Erik's signature smirk that I knew all too well. I didn't like fighting him. I hated that I still cared for him after everything,

I placed the frame back down with a light thud just as someone knocked on my door.

"Come in," I called, and the door opened revealing Charles.

He wheeled himself into my room, "Making yourself at home I see," Charles quipped, a soft smile on his lips.

I glanced around the room again, "Don't know if I can still call this place home," I stated, my eyes a landing back on Charles, his smile slowly vanishing. I placed my brush down on the nightstand so that I could fully focus on Charles. "You left my room mostly in tact," I noted, with a small shrug.

"After you left...I couldn't step foot in this room. Not without feeling a huge wave of regret," Charles admitted, now sitting directly across me.

"I didn't know you were capable of that back then," I retorted, rubbing my sore neck now feeling the effects of Erik's strangulation in Paris.

Charles breathed out a humorless chuckle,"You know, you've been so kind me these past few hours I almost forgot you despise me," he commented, before his eyes dropped to my neck. "I've been wondering about something since Paris," Charles stated, staring at the chain.

"And that is?" I asked tiredly, stretching my neck from side to side.

"If you hate me so much, why do you still have that amber necklace?" he asked, his eyes boring into mine.

Tilting my head straight, I faced Charles again, "It was too pretty to pawn off," I explained, and Charles drew his lips into a thin line. "And...call me sentimental Charles," I replied, a humorless chuckle escaping from me.

He sniggered, "Yes, and I suppose that would also explain your sudden concern for my well-being in France," Charles suggested, extending his hand out.

"Just like you not touching a thing in my room," I pointed out. "Or how you keep my picture face down in your study," I added, arching a challenging brow.

"It hurt me deeply to see your smiling face and know I would never see you again," Charles responded. "Leaving your room untouched, it was more of something to remember you by. When times were better between us," he added softly.

I remained quiet, not knowing how to respond to that. I licked my lips and let out a deep breath.

"You have to understand Charles, that you left me with practically no choice," I explained, shaking my head. "It hurt me to leave you, truly it did, but I don't regret it," I admitted. "I'd do it again," I finished, crossing my arms together.

A sardonic laugh left Charles' lip as he rubbed his chin, "_You won't lose me Charles,_" Charles recited. "Did you tell me that out of pity or were you just lying?" he asked, a hint of anger laced in his question.

I scoffed, "You would have never lost me Charles if it wasn't for that damn serum!" I hissed, pointing at him accusingly. "I was more of maid to you than your fiancee, which explains why this places looks worst than ever," I stated, shaking my head. "You're just like everybody else Charles. You never appreciate someone until they leave!" I stated, raising my hands in the air as a chuckle bubbled from me. "But Jean, when I met him he was a breath of fresh air compared to _you_. He was kind, charming, funny, and was a loving father, working as a fireman to provide for his daughter," I listed, smiling at the memory of meeting him.

"He sounds like a _real_ Prince Charming," Charles commented sarcastically.

"Oh he was, trust me," I agreed, nodding my head. "He proposed to me, you know," I informed, referring to Jean. "I could be _married_ right now," I continued, pointing to myself. "And be far away from this _mess_," I added, standing up from my bed.

"Then why aren't you!?" Charles snapped, slamming his hand down on his armrest. "If this man was so wonderful as you claim, why aren't you with him right now Claudia!?" Charles asked, sticking his hand out.

"Because Jean wasn't _you!"_ I exclaimed, watching Charles' face drop. "How could I get married to him when the man I love was back in the States, here, in this goddamn house drinking himself to death!" I shouted, as I placed both my hands on his armrests.

"You still love me?" Charles breathed, staring at me.

I rolled my eyes, "Did you honestly think I didn't love you anymore? That I could _ever_ stop loving you?" I asked back, my tone softening. "Because if you did, you're more clueless than I thought Char-"

I was interrupted by Charles pulling my face towards his for a searing kiss. My eyes widened as I felt Charles' lips on my own, after recovering from my initial shock my eyes drifted shut as I guided myself to sit down on his lap. The meeting of our lips felt so familiar, yet so new all at once. My hands slid to Charles' cheeks, cradling his face in my hands as I deepened the kiss. Charles pulled his mouth away from mine and I felt myself lean forward to follow him as he moved away. Charles' hands slid down to my waist in attempt to still me, but he kept only a few inches between us.

"Charles," I breathed.

"I'm sorry. I-I shouldn't have done that," Charles apologized, breathing heavily. "I don't know what came over me," he explained, lowering his head.

I gently lifted his face toward me, "Don't apologize," I replied, using my thumbs to stroke each of his cheeks before dipping my head down and pressing my lips onto his. Charles exhaled deeply as he returned my kiss with equal vigor, his hands roaming up and down my body. I slipped my fingers through Charles' hair, tugging him closer toward me and in response I felt Charles tighten his arms around my back. We pulled apart from each other both of us breathing hard, our foreheads rested against each other as we stared into each other eyes.

"I love you Claudia. God, I love you so much," he whispered gently against my lips, nuzzling our noses together. "I'm sorry for pushing you away Claudia. I'm sorry for the awful things I've said to you," Charles continued. "We have so much to mend in our relationship, but I'm willing to do it. I _want _what we had once before Claudia," Charles finished, unwrapping an arm from me to bring his hand to gently cup my cheek.

I nuzzled my cheek into his hand, "If you truly mean what you say about apologizing Charles, about healing the wounds between us, we can move on," I said, tucking a strand of hair behind Charles' ear. "Because this living we've been doing, isn't living," I explained, shaking my head. "I will be there for you, if you let me. But I need the real you again, I need the _real_ Charles," I finished, and stared into his eyes.

Charles nodded his head in agreement and his was soft and, dare I even think it, hopeful, it was the first time I had seen Charles like that in a long time. And that gave me hope. A smile formed on my lips as I went to kiss Charles again only to hear the sound of someone knocking on my bedroom door made and an awkward cough. Charles and I turn our heads from each other to see Logan standing in the door frame.

"You might want to come downstairs, Professor. We have a guest,"

"Who?" I asked curiously.

"Raven,"

* * *

_**AN: All is not well, but Charles and Claudia are going to work towards it.  
**_


	13. An Unexpected Visitor

_**AN: Sorry for the sudden disappearance my workload increased by tenfold and I had to get it done before I could even think about writing again.**_

* * *

"So Erik was telling the truth," Raven started, sitting across from Charles at the kitchen table. "It's either me or Trask," she stated, staring at the four of us.

I stood behind Charles, my hands resting on the top of his wheelchair. Hank stood to the left me with his arms folded, leaning against a cabinet while Logan stood to the right of me just staring at Raven.

"If you kill Trask, they'll be ten more like him," Hank pointed out.

The blonde turned and looked at him, "Well then I'll kill them too and anyone who comes next," Raven threatened, a hardened expression on her face.

"Raven, do you hear yourself right now?" I asked in disbelief, staring at her.

"Let's just cut to the chase here," Logan spoke up, seemingly fed up with the polite conversation. "You wanna know how all this ends? Cause I've seen you in the future," he addressed Raven brusquely.

She shifted her veiled, suspicious gaze to him and held her ground, "Yeah, what am I like?" she challenged.

Logan met her scrutiny without blinking, "You're a cold murderess bitch," he answered bluntly.

"Hey," Hank protested weakly.

"Well don't hold back!" Raven exclaimed.

"By the time they finish you, _and_ _they_ _finish_ _you_," Logan emphasized. "You've killed so much, you are knee-deep in human _and_ mutant blood. You don't even know _who_ you are," Logan finished.

The words hung heavy in the air and on us like weights on drowning, helpless supplicants. Covering and suffocating us, in the undeniable horror of what could be. Raven stared at Wolverine for a moment, taking in his words with a hint of fear behind her eyes.

"Well, maybe there wouldn't be as much mutant blood if we made our move _now,_" she shot back at Logan.

"Gee, I wondered where I've heard that sentiment before," I commented sarcastically, moving to stand beside Charles.

"These are Erik's words, not yours," Charles chimed into the conversation. "Besides, you'd be giving Trask exactly what he wants: A reason for humanity to—to fear, to hate us," he commented.

"You think they _need_ a reason? Do you honestly _think_ they'll ever be able to see me like this—" she briefly paused to shift into her natural form, to which he held his hand up and turned his head away for a second, "—and feel anything but fear? _You_ can't even look at me," she pointed out.

"That—That is not true," Charles denied and though his face was no longer turned, his eyes were looking somewhere above her head.

Raven reverted back to her human form, visibly easing Charles' comfort level, "I can hide, like you. But what about the ones who can't? I saw them in Vietnam. It's hard to hide your powers when you're getting _shot_ at. And the ones that couldn't hide became lab rats for Trask," she continued.

"I will _never_ let that happen to you," Charles vowed, his tone laced with sincerity. "I made you a promise long time ago that I would keep you safe, that I would protect you. If I had done my job, perhaps none of this would be happening to us. Perhaps you wouldn't have left home," he reasoned.

"I couldn't stay here forever, Charles," Raven sighed.

A slight smile tugged at Charles' lips when he pressed his fingertips to his right temple to telepathically speak to Raven.

"That's why!" She slammed her palms on the table clearly angry and rose to her feet.

"Raven, I'm sorry. I don't-" He began, but clearly there was some old habits Charles had never learned to stop and Raven was gonna remind him of them.

"And it's not _me_ you should be worrying about," she warned. "Erik is gonna start that war whether you like it or not,"

"Well, how do you know?" Hank wondered.

"He told me,"

Finished talking to us, the shapeshifter started limping to the bottom of the staircase. Raven's limping was pretty bad and it was clear that she was still injured from earlier today. She didn't get more than a few steps before Charles stopped her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Charles called, as I spotted the large dark stain on her pant leg.

"When was the last time you changed your bandage? On...on..your...leg?" Hank asked, his voice soft.

"Hank is going to see to your leg," Charles told her.

"I don't-" Hank interrupted.

"Yes you are," He told Hank."You need some rest, my girl," This he directed to Raven.

"I'm not your girl," she softly snapped at him, but it wasn't said with much conviction.

"You will find your room just as you left it," he informed her before turning to his most loyal student. "Hank, go," he urged.

"I don't-"

"You know you want to, go on," Charles insisted.

"I don't blame Erik for trying to kill me," Raven interjected. "I would've done the same thing," she stated.

"How you're still able to defend a man who just attempted to murder you only a few hours ago is beyond me," I said, shaking my head.

The former professor absorbed his adoptive sister's radical opinion, unsure of how to reply.

"Go on, Hank,"

Knowing that Charles was ultimately going to get his way, Hank remained silent and caved and the pair walked up the flight of stairs together. Charles took my hand in his, effectively stealing my attention from the staircase and I looked down at him.

"Would you be so kind to give Raven a fresh towel and washcloth?" he asked softly.

"Of course Charles," I answered, nodding my head.

"Thank you darling," he said, planting a quick kiss to back of my hand before releasing it.

I made my way up the stairs and just as I was walk down the hallway I heard Charles' voice.

"She's home,"

"What are you trying to do?" Logan questioned him, not even attempting to conceal his emotions.

"I'm trying to save her," Charles answered, it as if it were obvious.

"Men who try to do that to women, in my experience, it doesn't end well,"

~~~x~~~

Now carrying a fresh, fluffy white towel and washcloth in my hands I stood outside Raven's bedroom door. I don't know why, but I've suddenly become so anxious about speaking to Raven alone. We hadn't seen each other in over a decade, but we didn't exactly end on friendly terms either. Raven wouldn't hold a grudge that long would she? Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath I knocked on Raven's door before peeking my head in to see Raven sitting on her sofa.

"It's just me," I informed, fully stepping into the room. "Charles just wanted me to bring you a towel and washcloth," I explained, as I walked over to her bed and placed them down.

Raven just nodded and I interlocked my fingers behind me, giving a nod of my own before slowly walking backwards out of her room.

"It's funny you know," Raven began, causing me to halt in my movement. "How the roles have reversed," Raven continued, turning her head to look at me. "Once upon a time it was me who was welcoming you into the mansion. And now here you are doing the same for me a decade later," Raven lightly chuckled, shaking her head.

"Who would've thought?" I asked, my lips quirking up into a smile. "Well, I'll leave to it you then," I stated, clasping my hands together and moved towards the door again.

"Wait!" Raven called, and I stopped once again this time I was at the door frame. "Stay awhile," Raven added.

I arched a brow, "Why do you want me to?" I asked, the question a lot more blunt than I meant it to be. "I mean just it's been a decade since we've last seen each other. And it wasn't on the best of terms," I clarified,

A small smile formed on Raven's lips, "I was young and immature," Raven admitted, nodding her head. "But I'm not _her_ anymore," Raven added.

Giving a nod of my own, I made my way back into the room and sat in the sofa next to Raven, leaving a cushion space between us. An awkward silence permeated the space shared by us. As hard as we tried to ignore it, neither Raven nor I could deny that things between us had changed dramatically. We were both completely different people than we were in 1962. I hadn't really thought about Raven this much in awhile, sure she she had popped into my head quite a bit after the years following Cuba, but slowly she became an afterthought.

So many questions raced through my minds as we sit next to each other, praying for something, anything to interrupt the silence between them.

"How have you and Charles been getting on?" Raven questioned, breaking the crippling silence.

I breathed out a laugh and turned my body to face her, "To be honest you, it was only a few days ago that Charles and I saw each other again," I began, and Raven tilted her head in confusion. "Charles and I...well we separated in 1967," I explained, shaking my head. "It's been that way up until now," I added.

Raven's eyes widened to the size of saucers, "What!" she exclaimed, grabbing my hands. "You two were _perfect_ each other!" Raven claimed in disbelief.

"We were," I chuckled, nodding my head and glancing down to the floor. "But the serum that helped Charles walk, it severely damaged our relationship along with other factors," I sighed, lifting my eyes to see Raven's sad gaze.

She squeezed my hands gently, "I take it the school closing down was one of them?" Raven guessed.

I just smile at her sadly, "I think that was the biggest blow to Charles," I answered, sighing again. I put my hand on top of Raven's. "Enough about me, what about you?" I asked, looking at her expectantly.

"I was with Erik as you know already, up until JFK's assassination," Raven stated. "After that I went off on my own to fight for mutant freedom. I know we hold different views on what fighting for mutant rights looks like, but that's what I've been doing," she finished.

I looked away from her momentarily and out the window, "How was he? How was Erik?" I asked, looking back at her again.

"He...he missed you _dearly_," Raven answered. "Erik said he lost the woman who truly understood him," she continued. "And for awhile I envied you Claudia," Raven admitted. "I wanted to Erik to see me in that way," she added.

"But he did eventually, didn't he?" I questioned, remembering Erik's and Charles' conversation on the plane.

Raven nodded, "Yes, a relationship blossomed between us," she replied, a faint smile on her lips. A small laugh escaped her and she shook her head. "God, I miss conversations like these," Raven breathed.

"Conversations like what?" I asked curiously.

"Trivial ones about men and relationships," Raven answered, laughing lightly. "And most importantly, I miss having them with _you_," she continued. My brows raised and my lips curved into a soft grin. "You were my first friend Claudia and I've missed you. Jealously shouldn't have ruined our friendship and for that I apologize," Raven finished.

I let out a chuckle and I righted myself. I immediately opened my arms and wove them around Raven's shoulders pulling her into a hug, which she reciprocated happily.

"Stick around Raven," I suggested. "I might let you even have the honor of calling me Dia again," I joked, and the laughter from Raven vibrated against me.

~~~x~~~

Smiling to myself as I walked down the hallway I noticed a door was half-open, allowing me to spot Logan who was laying in bed with a cigar in his mouth. I scrunched up my nose in disgust at the smoky wisps that came out of his mouth. I knocked on the door catching Logan's attention.

"Yeah?"

I pushed the door open more slightly, "May I come in?" I asked sheepishly, to which Logan gave a nod. I scrunched nose my up even more now fully being hit witg the cigar smoke. "You know those things give you cancer?" I commented, arching a brow and Logan rolled his eyes.

I took a seat on the edge of a chair that was placed underneath a desk and listening to the sounds of the TV before Logan spoke up.

"I have to know Claudia, how did Charles end up with a..." Logan trailed off, like he didn't want to finish his sentence.

"Say it, Logan," I encouraged, my lips curving into a smirk. "It's alright," I added.

"How did Charles end up falling in love with someone who is such a bitch?" Logan asked bluntly.

I let out a laugh, throwing my head back in the process, "Well, you know what they say Logan," I began. "Opposites attract," I reminded, a grin on my face. "I do have to have thank you Logan," I stated, interlocking my fingers.

"What for?"

"If you hadn't found me and convinced me to help you, Charles and I probably wouldn't have gotten back together to try and work things out," I explained, slightly shrugging my shoulders. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I owe you..._everything,_" I informed, looking at Logan.

Logan met my gaze, "You really wouldn't have come back if it weren't me?" Logan asked skeptically.

"No," I answered truthfully. "Charles no sign of changing his ways," I added, remembering my time in the mansion.

"Until now," Logan stated, and I nodded.

I lifted a brow, "So, in the future. You really never heard of me or even seen a picture of me," I questioned, placing my arm on the desk and leaning my face on my knuckle.

Logan hesitated, "No," he told me. "It's like I said before, I never heard of you," he said.

My mind was reeling. How could he have never mentioned me. I thought I was his...his _everything_.

"Wow, so Charles just erased my entire existence in the future," I scoffed, shaking my head in disbelief. "I take it that someone took my place. Who's he married into the future? What's she like?" I inquired curiously.

Logan shook his head, "Charles isn't married in the future," Logan corrected, and I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Being here now," Logan continued carefully. "I get the impression that Charles had found it difficult to talk about you, mostly because of how your relationship had fallen apart," Logan stated, staring at me. "I don't think Charles could never see himself being in a relationship if it wasn't you," he explained, his voice taking on a softer tone. "It's obvious the man adores you Claudia, so the guilt of him pushing you away which subsequently led to your death must've ate at him," Logan finished.

I sat in stunned silence, "Wow," I finally breathed out.

"Ah, there you are Claudia," Charles called from the door, and my head snapped to the door. "I wondered where you had gone," he continued.

I stood up from my seat, "Oh Logan and I were just having a chat," I stated, moving towards Charles with a faint smile on my face. "It was very..._illuminating_," I added.

I looked at Logan, the man who had changed everything, and I made a promise to myself. I would not let that be my future. I refused to die and I refused to lose Charles again.

~~~x~~~

I watched the sunrise from Charles' bed with a cup of coffee in hand, the morning light spilling through his window. The clock that was on Charles' wall ticked softly in a way that was soothingly. I was usually the only one awake at this time of morning, but the feeling of lips placing butterfly kisses up my back made it clear I wasn't the only one awake. I smiled to myself and slowly let mug float over to the nightstand as I turned over to face Charles.

"Good morning," I greeted, a smile still on my face as he draped his arm around my waist.

"A good morning indeed," Charles said, locking eyes with me and I could see nothing but absolute bliss behind them.

Holding myself up with my elbow, I let the tips of my finger graze his jawline and Charles leaned into my touch. I moved my fingers higher and ran my hand through his long hair.

"You need a haircut," I commented, and Charles smiled. "And a shave," I added, breathing out a laugh.

Charles leaned in closer to me, placing his lips on my cheek. My nose. My lips. I placed my hand on the nape of his neck as Charles slowly broke our kiss. Softly, he ran his thumb across my cheekbone. For a minute, neither of us spoke a word.

"You're so beautiful," Charles whispered, and a smile pulled at my lips.

The sound of knocking on Charles' bedroom door broke us from our reverie. Charles' grip around my waist loosened and I slipped out of the bed, making my way towards the door. I opened the door only to find Hank with a panicked expression on his face.

"Hank what's wrong?" I asked, my previous feelings of serenity slowly disappearing.

"I've made a mistake," Hank informed, and I furrowed my brows in confusion.

"What?" I asked, folding my arms.

It was only ten minutes later when we stood in front of a broken up Cerebro, that I understood what Hank had meant.

Hank held the broken helmet in his hands, sighing, "We can't track her now," he said, shaking his head.

"She's cut her ties..." Charles sighed as well, gazing at the damaged Cerebro in sorrow.

I ran a hand down my face, "So essentially we're screwed," I stated, looking down at the now useless helmet.

"Wait," Hank called. "There's something I need to show you," he added.

We followed Hank, back up the lift and to one of the rooms in the mansion that he had turned into something else during the time I had been away. Multiple TVs were plugged into computers. Tapes were rolling as three voices clashed with each other and a web of wires covered the floor.

Hank sat down and flipped some switches, "This is the system I designed to record any news about Paris, over all three networks and PBS," Hank explained.

"All three? Wow," Logan said dryly.

Hank nodded, "Yeah, and PBS," he repeated with a light chuckled before shifting his attention back to the matter. "Anyways, look what I found," He said, turning up the volume on one TV.

"Tomorrow in front of the White House," a news reporter began holding a black microphone. "The President will make his announcement. He'll be joined by Secretary of Defense, Laird, and has even sought the help of renowned scientist Bolivar Trask, his special adviser to combat this mutant issue. The White House has asked..." Hank stopped the recording and turned back to us.

"Raven doesn't realize that if she kills Trask at an event like that with the whole world watching..." Charles started.

"Then I came a long way for nothing," Logan finished.

I bit my lip, "What are we going to do?" I asked, running a hand over my hair.

"Wait, there's more bad news," Hank informed. "I saw the report, they found traces of her blood in Paris. For all we know, they already have her DNA, which is all they'd need-"

"To create the Sentinels of the future," Logan finished again and sighed.

"Now there's a theory in Quantum Physics," Hank began. "That time is immutable. It's like a river, you can throw a pebble into it, create a ripple, but the current always corrects itself. No matter what you do, the river just keeps flowing in the same direction," Hank finished, and I looked up at him.

"What are you trying to say?" Logan questioned, arms crossed.

"What I'm saying is," Hank sighed. "What if the war is inevitable? What if she's meant to kill Trask? What if this is just simply who she is?" I looked back down at the floor.

"It sure seems like it," I murmured.

Charles shook his head slowly, "Just because someone stumbles, loses their way, doesn't mean they're lost forever," he said, as if reciting someone else's words. I lifted my head smiled, Charles I had known was slowly coming back. He looked at Hank. "No, I don't believe that theory, Hank," Charles disagreed. "And I cannot believe that that is who she is," Charles stated, and Hank nodded in agreement.

"Now ready the plane, we're going to Washington,"

* * *

_**AN: Lowkey, I wanted to rip my hair out trying to write this chapter because I was struggling.**_


	14. Washington DC

_**AN: It's crazy to think this story is about to reach its end.**_

* * *

I sat next to Charles as he stared out of the plane deep in thought, he wasn't the only one. I found myself attacking my nails with vicious energy. I couldn't remember the last I bit my nails like this, then again I haven't been under this much stress in awhile for me to fallback into my old habits. With the fate of the world hanging in the balance I'm surprised my nails aren't down to nubs.

"You alright?" Logan asked from across the row.

"Getting there," Charles sighed.

"You're in pain again, aren't you?" I asked him, Charles nodded and I grabbed his hand and held it in mine. I channeled a sensation to his brain to think that his lower back and legs were pain free. "Better?" I asked again.

"Yes, thank you," Charles mumbled, and I gave him a nod.

"It's nothing," I smiled at him.

Logan sighed, "Whatever happens today, I need you to promise me something," he began. "You looked into my mind and you've seen a lot of bad, but you've seen the good too,"

I raised my eyebrows slightly, Charles had seen the future?

"The X-Men. Promise me you'll find us. Use your power, bring us together. Guide us. Lead us," Logan continued, I gave Charles' hand a squeeze to reassure him. This is a lot of pressure to place on one man. "Storm. Scott. Jean. Remember those names. There are so many of us. We will need you, Professor,"

Charles looked like he wanted to smile, but he just raised his eyebrows, "I'll do my best," Charles promised.

Logan nodded and leaned back, "Your best is enough. Trust me," Logan said with a smile.

I squeezed Charles' hand and he looked over at me, "And this time," I began, looking at Logan. "I'll be there to help him along the way," I said, with a gentle smile as I turned to Charles.

~~~x~~~

The four of us made our way to the event, I was pushing Charles in his wheelchair, something I hadn't done in a long time, but I was happy to help him. The line in front of us began to shorten as people passed through the metal detector, showing their invitations. When it was our turn I pushed Charles through the metal detector which beeped at the wheelchair.

I rolled my eyes at it, before looking ahead me to the field in front of the White House, watching as hundreds of Americans talked excitedly to one another about what the government had in store for the future. Along with news cameras from around the world aimed at the stage filled with army officials and a huge cloth covering something giant.

I cringed at how impressive the government had made it seem.

"Can I see your invitations, please?" The man asked, breaking my concentration.

Charles smiled at him, "Yes, you may," Charles answered, placing his hands to his temple, as if he was massaging a headache. "These three are with me," He stated, motioning to Hank, Logan, and I.

"Go ahead,"

"Thank you," I grinned, placing my hand softly on his shoulder and proceeded to wheel Charles in. I leaned down to Charles' ear as I continued pushing him to get to our seats. "You are just loving your powers, aren't you?" I murmured, a smile growing on my lips.

Charles grinned at me and shrugged, "A blessing and a curse, Claudia, dear," he replied, as I pulled myself up back to my full height.

I turned around to see Hank walked closely behind us, but I realized Logan wasn't with us, he was just staring at the metal detector.

"Logan," I called, Logan looked at me and turned back around to the detector with a frown before following after me.

Due to Charles being wheelchair bound we were able to get a good position, once we were settled Charles' raised his fingers to his temple again this time to search the crowd for Raven. Hank and Logan surveyed the crowd also looking around for Raven, although, I realized that it was pointless with Raven's mutation.

"Haven't found her yet but she has to be here," Charles informed us.

"The President of the United States!" A voice announced through the speakers all around the field.

I lowered my sunglasses and watched as President Nixon walked onto the stage, his body guards following closely behind him. Everyone clapped euphorically and with pride, whistling at the President. I scoffed and looked around as the crowd continued cheering for him as he made his way up to the podium.

"They are so naive..." I murmured.

Nixon held his hands up to silence the crowd, "My fellow Americans," he began grandly. "Today we face the gravest threat in our history, mutants," I grit my teeth, I was rightly pissed off by the statement, but I knew that there was some truth to it. "We have prepared for this threat. In the immortal words of Robert Oppenheimer, 'Behold. The world will never be the same again," he finished, with a wave of the hand.

The curtain behind him dropped, revealing a monster of a machine. The sentinel robots. They were mainly purple and silver, with their mechanical heads bowed and eyes void of light. I glanced over at Logan to see his body tensed, staring at the machines with a spark of fear. Focusing my eyes back on the stage, all of the military servicemen raised their arms up to their foreheads in salute. Suddenly, the military band started to play the hymn of the country as the President looked behind him, pointing at eight giant monstrous robots.

"Raven!" Charles shouted suddenly, and the three of us looked down in surprise. "I have her," he said grabbing my arm.

"Where?" Hank asked, looking around.

"There," Charles said, pointing to the general direction of the stage. "You see? Secret Serviceman. Left of the stage," Logan and Hank nodded as he pointed at the man.

"Got it," Logan confirmed.

"Go," I ordered. "I'll stay here," I informed, and Logan nodded again and they leave rushing to where Raven is.

I watched as the two men ran off towards a man in a suit, I then saw a guard stop them from continuing further, and I cursed under my breath.

"Stall her, Charles," I whispered, and he nodded and seemed to be talking quietly. I knew he was communicating with Raven.

All of a sudden, I heard a strange whirring and clicking sound and I lifted my head up to see the monstrous machines activating. I put my hands on Charles' shoulders as my eyes widened. I quickly looked onto the stage at Trask as he turned to look at his right hand, Stryker. I narrowed my eyes, focusing on the emotions flowing from the two men. Trask had a frown on his face as I felt fear, panic, and confusion rise within me and Stryker mimicked the same feelings.

"Oh no," I whispered, watching as the sentinels' eyes light up in an orange-yellow glow and their heads lift.

The robot's engines began to power up and they started floating above the crowd. The crowd gaped in awe before clapping and cheering with patriotic pride. But I knew something was wrong for Trask and now the President to be in a subtle flurry of confusion. Suddenly, the Sentinels began firing at police cars and the cheers turned into screaming as gunfire filled the air.

Charles looked to the sky angrily, "Erik!" Charles yelled out in frustration, as bullets rained down on police cars.

"We have to get out of here!" I shouted, ducking and started to push Charles away as fast as I could.

Which was quite a difficult task with people bumping into me or almost running into us as the sentinels turned their gunfire at the crowd. Out of nowhere, the sky unreasonably became darker and I slowed in my tracks to look up and saw an unbelievable sight.

I slid my sunglasses off, "Holy..." I trailed off, staring with wide eyes at a baseball stadium that flew overhead. I then noticed a caped figure with a helmet levitating with the stadium.

_Erik._

"Claudia! Watch out!" Charles yelled, sunglasses in hand.

I snapped out of my trance and saw that the stadium was now falling from the sky at an incredible speed. Pieces of concrete debris fell from the sky directly towards where we were.

"Charles!" Logan screamed, from a distance.

I turned to look at Logan to see that he is pointing at a piece which is falling off the stadium. My eyes widen again and I attempted to move his wheelchair, but failed to do so because a wheel became stuck in the ground.

"Jump!" I shouted, and Charles forced himself to fall out of his wheelchair.

I used my telekinetic powers so the large debris fell around Charles, leaving him with no harm. Seeing that Charles was mostly safe I dropped my hand to my side only for a stray rock to hit his forehead, creating a bloody gash.

"Charles!" I yelled.

Before I could reach him, I looked up to see debris about to fall on top of me, lifting my hands up above myself the purple aura of my telekinetic abilities held the debris in place before moving it away from myself. I concentrated on safely moving the debris in the air when suddenly a large bar of steel came flying in my direction about to hit me. I screamed and narrowly dodged it only for me to be hit with another piece of concrete.

"Claudia!" I heard Hank yell.

I let out a yelp of pain, feeling tears prick my eyes as I reached out my hand to raise the large piece of concrete off my leg. I pursed my lips in concentration and let out a grunt in pain before I completely lifted the slab from my leg. My leg was shaking in pain, and my pants felt wet as a warm, sticky substance heavily stained the fabric with the color red.

Nausea washed over me as the corner of my eyes seemed to darken. I blinked my eyes repeatedly in an attempt to stay conscious and looked at my surroundings. The fallen baseball stadium, encircling the White House and most of the property around it. Electrical lines had fallen all over, chairs and debris covering nearly the entirety of the ground. In the center of the carnage stood Erik, who was now controlling the robots and using them as guards.

Faintly, I could hear Charles also groaning in pain a few feet away, and I vaguely saw Hank and Logan hiding behind fallen rocks.

A sharp gasp escaped from my lips as I held my leg in my hands as a surge of pain shot through my appendage. I watched as the blood from my wound trickled down onto the dust covered grass, forming a small pool of red. Inhaling sharply, I lifted my head to meet Erik's scowling face which slightly softened when he saw me. Within a split second Erik's face hardened once more as the sound of Hank's loud growl echoed in the air. Erik turned away from me and to one of the sentinels, and it levitated forward, raising its gun towards Hank and Logan before firing. They went in two different directions. Hank on top of the Sentinel and Logan running towards Erik.

Biting down hard on my lip, I dragged my leg behind me and pulled myself closer to the action to help the two of them in some shape or form. The sound of metal shrieking and the sound of something being torn apart, causes me to stop in my tracks. A loud yell made me jump and I turned to see Erik plunging metal poles into Logan's body, it was difficult to listen to his screams of agony.

Erik lifted him up into the air and stared at Logan with no remorse or pity for what he was doing before throwing Logan over the stadium and to god knows where.

Erik turned back to the White House and waved his hand around and all of a sudden, a loud crash came from the house and a large metal room floated out into the open: the Presidential safe room. He placed it down on the lawn in front of him, moving his hand across and the whole front section peeled off with a metallic creak to reveal himself to them. All of the men's guns, aimed at him, were tugged out of their hands and now pointed towards them instead.

I knew it was now or never.

Summoning the remaining strength that I had, a violet aura enveloped my hand before I threw it forward and a bolt of energy at Erik who had his back toward me. The bolt inched closer and closer to Erik's shoulder when out of nowhere a piece of metal moved in front of Erik which shielded him from the bolt. The metal shield fell to the ground and Erik turned on his heel to face me.

"Erik, stop this!" I shouted as he looked at me.

His expression softened again, "Claudia, I don't want to hurt you," Erik stated.

"You already have," I retorted, referring to my leg as I dragged myself closer to a rock to lean on.

"Just leave and don't get in my way!" he shouted.

"I can't do that Erik, you know I can't," I said, shaking my head and suddenly poles began to wrap around my wrists, neck and hands, effectively trapping me in place. "You'll doom us all because of your hatred!" I shouted, thrashing in my restraints.

Erik turned around to face the safe room again, turning his palms the live news cameras that had been rolling since the speech began to turn as well. He going to say a speech of his own, I almost laughed. Erik was always one for dramatic flair.

"You built these weapons to destroy us," I hear my former friend begin, pointing to the Sentinels. "Why? Because you are afraid of our gifts. Because we are different. Humanity has always feared that which is different. I had to agree with that statement. Difference was the reason for all the wars unfortunately. "Well, I am here to tell you, to tell the world: you are right to fear us," Erik stated, in a powerful and booming voice.

"We are the future. We are the ones who will inherit this earth, and anyone who stands in our way will suffer the same fate as these men," he motioned to the President and his advisors, "You see before you. Today was meant to be a display of your power. Instead I give you a glimpse of the devastation my race can unleash upon yours. Let this be a warning to the world. And to my mutant brothers and sisters out there," Erik's tone became more sincere but still aggressive, "I say this, no more hiding, no more suffering. You have lived in the shadows in shame and fear for too long. Come out, join me. Fight together in the brotherhood of our kind. A new tomorrow, that starts today,"

As he finished, there was a loud commotion from the metal safe room. The sound of gasps filled the silence as the President walked out.

"Mr. President! Sir!"

The Secret Servicemen grabbed him to bring him back into the safe room, but he pulled out of their grasp.

"Stand down!" Nixon commanded, standing up and walking over to Erik as if he had any power in this situation at all. He faced Erik and then pointed a finger towards Erik. "You want to make a statement? Kill me? Fine! But spare everyone else!" he ordered.

"What the hell is happening right now..." I whispered to myself.

_"He's not real,"_ _Charles stated. _

I jumped a bit and realized we were speaking telepathically.

_"What do you mean 'not real'?" I asked._

_"That's not the real president,"_ _Charles clarified_. _"Where's Hank?" he asked._

I looked out of my peripherals and saw the sentinel back off of where Hank was trapped in a car. God, I hope he isn't hurt too badly.

_"Over there,"_ _I answered._ _"Are you doing okay?" I questioned._

_"Been better,"_ _he said._

I nodded in agreement, even though Charles couldn't see.

"Very heroic, Mr. President," Erik said dryly. "But you have no intention of sparing any of us. The future of our species begins now," He pointed a floating gun at the man. Suddenly, the sentinel who had been chasing Hank now ran towards Erik. He tore it apart easily, and it became just more debris littering the stadium.

"Wait..." I said to myself. "If that's not the real president then..."

I craned my neck as best as I could to see into the safe room and that's when my eyes had laid upon the _real_ President sitting beside Trask. My eyes widened when I realized it was Raven protecting the crowd. Bawling my fist up, I used a good amount of my strength and sent an aura blast at Erik with a spread of my fingers. He turned around and deflected it with more metal debris.

Raven had taken this chance and pulled a gun out, shooting Erik, but just grazing the side of his neck while transforming into her blue-skinned natural at the same time. There were audible gasps in the safe room as Raven dropped the plastic gun at her side. Erik dropped to the grass and covered his neck, before smirking up at Raven.

"You used to be a better shot," he commented smugly.

"Trust me, I still am," Raven assured coldly, before running up to him and kicking him in the head, then using the butt of the gun to slam against his head, knocking him unconscious.

The metal poles that held me in place dropped to the ground and I let out a breath of relief. My relief was short lived though as Raven turned back towards the safe room, aiming her gun at Trask.

"No no no no," I muttered.

All of this would be for nothing if she still killed Trask.

I willed myself to stay strong and dragged myself back over to Charles as best as I could. He was mumbling something with his finger on his temple, meaning he was communicating. I looked back to see Raven with her gun still raised but looking confused.

"Claudia!" Hank called. He ran over, blood and dirt all over his face. His glasses were gone, and his clothing was ripped and stained. He had a big smile and hugged me tightly.

"Hank! You're alive!" I exclaimed, hugging him back.

Charles continued speaking to Raven, staring off into the air, "All you've done so far is save the lives of these men. You can show them a better path," he explained, as Hank and I exchanged looks.

"Shut her down, Charles," Hank encouraged, as I held onto him for support because of my leg.

"I've been trying to control you ever since the day we met and look what that's got us. Everything that happens now is in your hands. I have faith in you, Raven,"

"Come on, Raven," Hank murmured.

The blue-skinned redhead looked down at the ground and reluctantly dropped her gun to ground. The three of us let out a breath of relief.

"He's all yours, Charles," Raven called loudly.

She pulled the helmet off Erik as she walked away and Charles quickly put his hand on his forehead, and Erik woke up. The man magnetically pulled the bars off of Charles' body. Hank helped him up, as I used the debris to keep myself steady.

"If you let them have me, I'm as good as dead. You know that," Erik pointed out, once his mind was in his own control again.

"I know," Charles said with no emotion in his voice.

Erik then turned to me and looked into my eyes, "Goodbye, Claudia, I am sorry for what I have done to you and the pain I've caused,"

I let out a scoff, "You have a _really _bad habit of saying that a lot," I reminded, shaking my head. "Goodbye Erik," I said finally.

He turned to his best friend and nodded at his head, "Goodbye old friend," he said.

"Goodbye, Erik," Charles responded.

Erik opened his hands and lifted himself up, floating away into the cloudy sky. Raven turned to me and gave me a silent goodbye before doing the same to Charles and Hank while she walked away and out of the stadium.

"You sure you should let them go?" Hank asked, as wrapped my arm around his shoulder.

Charles drew in a deep breath, "Yes, I have hope for them. There's going to be a time, Hank, when we are all together," Charles explained, looking at me with a small smile.

"What about Logan...?" Hank asked.

"Well," I began, causing the two men to look at me. "I think he's going to be fine," I stated, nodding my head. "He does have the best friends he could hope for, in the future after all," I added, with a small smile on my face.

* * *

_**AN: Hoped you enjoyed the chapter!  
**_


	15. A Bright Future

**_AN: Here it is people, the last chapter. It has been a journey.  
_**

* * *

**_Xavier Institute - 1974_  
**

My hand moved quickly on the chalkboard as I finished writing the summarization of everything that I discussed in today's lesson. I turned around to face my students, who were obviously not really paying attention to what I was saying.

"Please make sure for our next class you've read chapters four and five of your psychology textbooks as we will be having a quiz on them," I informed, looking over my students "Other than that, class dismissed. Enjoy the the rest of your day," I wished, smiling brightly.

"Bye Mrs. X," some of them called while walking out the the classroom. It was the shorter version of Mrs. Xavier, and sometimes they would say Mrs. Xavier, but I had grown to like being called 'Mrs. X'.

It had been six months since that fateful day in Washington and the world was forever changed. Everyone learned of the existence of mutants when we faced off that day in Paris. And naturally the world grew to fear of us when Erik decided to drop a stadium around the White House and almost assassinate the President. But luckily, the assassination attempt was thwarted by a shape shifting blue mutant that saved his life and probably a lot more. That same shape shifting mutant also decided to spare Trask which in turn saved humankind and mutants from living in a horrific future.

And because of being spared Trask was imprisoned for life for trading American secrets with the Vietnamese. It is unfortunate that the monster wasn't locked up for all the mutants that he slaughtered for his experiments. But at least he was placed somewhere were he couldn't hurt anyone else. The sentinel plan had been completely scrapped. Which must have meant we saved the future. Which is fortunate, but we have no idea what became of Logan. Charles said he somehow knew he would be alright.

Charles, Hank, and I reopened the school shortly after the events of D.C. It took a few months to get back on track, the mansion needed a serious cleaning not to mention the yard that was in desperate need of tending. Still, it was easy enough, fortunately the mansion wouldn't need years of renovations like when we first opened the school.

I began to clean up my desk before moving onto the blackboard behind me, lately I was finding it increasingly harder to move. Humming to myself, I waved my hand behind me, letting my telekinesis clean and straighten up the room behind my back.

"Love, how long have you been on your feet? a British voice asked from behind me.

I turned around and smiled lovingly at my husband that was wheeling himself inside to visit me. Charles was all cleaned up. Getting better sleep with me, his wife beside him, those dark rings around his eyes disappeared. He stopped drinking. He started dressing like he used to. Charles thankfully took my advice and shaved his face and also cut his hair. And now, and forever, he decided to stay in his wheelchair and embrace his powers yet again.

I rolled my eyes playfully, "Not that long don't you worry," I assured, placing down the board eraser.

He smiled and looked up at me, "Why don't you have a seat?" Charles suggested, patting his lap.

"You're ridiculous Charles," I laughed, moving over to him and taking a seat in his lap.

"Have I told you that you look radiant today?" Charles asked, wrapping his arms around me.

"Once or twice," I reminded, with a grin. "But I can't take all the credit for my glowing skin," I continued, gently grabbing one of Charles' hands. "You can thank _her_," I added, placing his hand on my round belly that was covered by my green corduroy dress and cream turtleneck sweater.

I was five months pregnant. I was ecstatic at the thought of being a mother, but I would be lying if I didn't say how much time I spent worrying if I would be a fit mother. I wasn't sure if I had a maternal bone in my body, but Charles reassured me and pointed out how well I worked with the children at the school.

"I can't believe we're having a daughter," Charles breathed, softly caressing my belly.

I rested my head on his shoulder, "I can't wait to meet her," I commented, as Charles planted a kiss on my neck. "I wonder who she'll take up afterwards," I added, stroking the top of Charles' hand.

"She'll probably be stubborn just like her mother," Charles guessed, with a grin.

I lifted my head up, "Hey!" I cried playfully, softly hitting his arm and making him laugh.

Charles lifted my hand that held the diamond ring placed on my finger and gave it a soft kiss on the knuckles. Another smile made its way to my face.

"Claudia, I don't think I have ever loved you as much as I do right now. I love you,"

I leaned down into him for a gentle kiss, before slowly pulling away. I placed my hands on his shoulders and smiled at him.

I let out a giggle, "Keep saying things like that in that _lovely _accent of yours Mr. Xavier and we'll be well on our way to baby number two," I said, a grin on my face.

Charles laughed and I joined him, placing his hand on my cheek Charles reconnected our lips with each other.

I pulled away again letting out a sigh, "I have another class soon," I murmured, against his lips.

"Unfortunate really," Charles replied, pecking my lips.

"I'll see you tonight?" I asked.

"Of course," he stated, his lips curving into a smile

* * *

_**Xavier Mansion - Present Day**_

Logan awoke in his room at Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters with a frown on his face. There was a clock beside him, it looked like a hologram, a small globe spinning from its projector atop the alarm clock that softly played Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" in a soothing melody. He slowly sat up in the bed and took in his surroundings before smiling to himself, realizing that he was back at the Xavier Mansion. Logan quickly bolted out of bed and out of his room to see that everything had changed so much.

Stepping outside his room, Logan walked down the corridor, watching as students hurried to their first classes. Logan walked further down the hall and saw Bobby with Rogue, he then saw Kitty teaching a class with Colossus, suddenly he bumped into someone, and turned around to see an older Hank in his Beast form. But most importantly, he was alive and well.

"Good morning, Logan. Late start?" Hank asked, while laughing as he passed Logan.

Logan still confused walked down the stairs and saw Storm with a group of students, causing him to smile, which quickly turned to a look of shock as he saw a certain redheaded telepath in the entrance to Professor Xavier's study.

"_Jean_?"

Jean turned around and smiled at him, "Hey, Logan. Are you okay?" she asked.

"You're here..." He said in disbelief.

She looked into his eyes and gave a small nod, "Where else would I be?" she asked again, raising an eyebrow.

Without thinking, Logan went to touch Jean's face, but he never got to touch her, as a hand suddenly grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

"Woah. Easy, pal," Scott said, getting in between the two.

"Well some things never change," Logan muttered, dropping his hand. "Good to see you Scott," Logan said, a genuine smile on his face while clasping a hand on Scott's shoulder

Scott looked at Logan with an unsure expression, "...Uh-huh.. See you later, Jean," Scott said awkwardly, before leaving the room.

Logan stared at the Professor, finding him reading a book.

"Professor," He murmured looking at him.

Jean frowned at him worried, "Is everything alright, Logan?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

Logan glanced at her, before looking around the study someone was missing. _Claudia_. Logan began to think to himself that maybe Charles and Claudia weren't meant to be, but in that exact moment, a gray haired woman wearing a black knit dress over a white long sleeve collared shirt with a belt to synch her waist, walked in the room.

"Jean, Logan" she greeted with a smile as she passed them. The Professor looked at her and his face lit up at the sight of her as she showed him a book. "I would hate to say that I told you so, but I don't. So, I told you so," she stated, her brown eyes warm with mirth as she handed him the book.

The Professor shook his head, a smile still on his face, "My dearest Claudia, what would I do without you?" He asked taking the book.

Logan watched them before nodding at Jean, "Yeah, I think it is," Logan finally said, and Jean smiled at him and before leaving the room.

Logan turned back around to look at the Professor and Claudia, a frown on his face. Claudia was pointing to something in the book and let out a soft laugh, that's when Logan noticed the large round diamond ring on her finger.

"You did it," He stated, looking at them.

The two of them looked at him and Charles placed the book on his desk.

"Did what?" Charles asked confused "Logan, don't you have a class to teach?" he asked again.

Logan rose an eyebrow, "A class to teach?" he replied, even more confused.

"Yes, history," Claudia reminded him, raising an eyebrow of her own.

"History?" Logan asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "Actually, I could use some help with that," he commented.

"Help with what?" Charles asked, as he moved his wheelchair to Logan's position.

Logan narrowed his eyes and looked at the floor, "Pretty much everything after 1973," Logan informed, turning to look at them. "I think the history I know is a little different," he added with a smile.

Charles gave him a knowing look and nodded, "Welcome back..." he whispered with a small smile, as Claudia's eyes lit up in realization.

"It's good to see you, Charles," He said, looking at the Professor "Even you," He stated, now looking at Claudia. "It's good to see everyone," Logan breathed out in relief.

Charles sighed, "Well, I had a promise to keep," Charles replied with a soft smile. "You and I have a lot of catching up to do," he said.

"Yeah," Logan added with a smile.

Claudia walked over to him too with the same smile, interested in him telling everything that happened.

"Tell us, what's the last thing you remember?" she asked, placing a hand on Charles' shoulder.

Logan looked out of the window and sighed, "Drowning," he answered.

Claudia looked at Charles and he motioned for Logan to sit down.

"Well," Claudia began. "This is going to take some time, won't it?" Claudia commented, with a smile and she closed the door with a simple wave of her hand.

~~~x~~~

_The past. A new and uncertain world. A world of endless possibilities, and infinite outcomes. Countless choices define our fate. Each choice, each moment a ripple in the river of time. Enough ripples and you change the tide. _

_ For the future is never truly set._

* * *

**_AN: I really can't believe this is the last chapter guys. It has been a pleasure writing this story and I'm glad that so many of you enjoyed it along with Of Vices and Virtues. _**

**_I regret to inform all of you that there will not be sequel to this story. I'm going to be honest with you, I did not enjoy X-Men Apocalypse at all. It does not bring me the same joy that First Class and Days of Future Past does. So, I'm not going to write something that I have no passion for, I do hope you all understand._**

**_Once again, I thank you all for supporting this story and the last one. It really helped me out when I was under a lot of stress._**


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